Red Keep, Maegor's Tower.
The stained glass inlaid on the high windows filters the afternoon sunlight into strips of colorful light, which are projected on the carpet.
The long tables are arranged in a huge horseshoe shape, enough to accommodate more than three hundred guests.
The waiters wore royal uniforms and shuttled between the tables like a well-trained army. The air was filled with the smell of barbecue, spices, and the expensive perfume of the nobles.
I remember the last time the Red Fort was so lively, it was the last time.
That is, at the wedding of Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark.
But today is different, the grandness of the ceremony is even far greater than last time, because today is the wedding of King Joffrey Baratheon I and Miss Marga Li Tyrell.
The Seven Gods blessed this marriage, at least that's what the High Septon said.
The Seven Gods bless the unity of the Seven Kingdoms and make the alliance between the Reach and the royal family stable.
Bless the Seven Gods... if the Seven Gods are really busy.
However, at this moment, Joffrey, who was sitting on the main table in the shape of the Iron Throne, did not seem to care about the gods' blessings. He just raised a bohemian smile on his lips, looking at the little Tyrion not far away like Crooked-Mouth Dragon King, not knowing what he was planning.
Today he was wearing a gorgeous dress of crimson and gold, and a pure gold crown inlaid with Ruby. It was specially made by Lord Tywin for his coronation day. It was so heavy that Joffrey had to adjust his posture from time to time.
"Tyrion Uncle!"
Suddenly, the king's sharp voice sounded.
The named little Tyrion was sitting at the bottom of the main table. Hearing his nephew's call, he put down the wine glass in his hand and raised his head with a very calm expression.
"Your Majesty What are your orders?"
Joffrey grinned. "Your glass is empty, Uncle."
He deliberately amplified his voice so that the nobles at several tables around him could hear. "As a king, how can Uncle not have wine to drink?"
"Here, I'll pour it for you myself."
The banquet hall was quiet for a moment.
Tyrion pursed his lips tightly and clenched his hands slightly under the table, but still maintained a polite smile on his face, "Your Majesty is too kind, but I'm not thirsty."
"Not thirsty?" Joffrey picked up the golden flagon on the table, staggered around the table and walked to Tyrion.
Queen Marga Li sat next to the king and watched her husband walk towards Tyrion. She maintained a perfect smile on her delicate face, but there was an inexplicable emotion flashing in her eyes.
"As king, I command you to be thirsty."
Finally, Joffrey stopped in front of Tyrion and looked down at Tyrion who was sitting on the high chair. He deliberately raised the wine bottle very high.
Wow~~~~
The cold Arbor Golden Wine was poured on Tyrion's head, soaking through his expensive purple velvet coat. The wine dripped onto the dinner plate, making small splashes.
In simple attire, the banquet hall suddenly burst into laughter.
Tyrion closed his eyes and allowed the wine to flow over his cheeks. However, he did not move or wipe it. He just sat quietly, like a statue soaked by wine.
Even his beautiful wife Sansa beside him showed no reaction.
Because before Tyrion came to King's Landing, she had already endured enough teasing from Joffrey, and she was already used to it.
At that time, she was still his potential Queen.
Finally, Joffrey poured the last drop from the flagon and casually threw the empty flagon on the ground.
"Now you are thirsty, Uncle." He laughed loudly, "Quickly, get a new cup for the king Uncle! I want a big one.
The waiter hurriedly handed over a huge golden cup, so big that Tyrion needed both hands to hold it.
Joffrey took the cup, filled it himself from another jug, and put it into Tyrion's hand.
"Drink!" the king ordered forcefully, "Drink them all! Not a drop is left!"
Tyrion opened his eyes.
There were still water drops hanging on his eyelashes, and his vision was a little blurry.
Looking through the blur at Joffrey, the monster born to his sister Cersei, a teenage tyrant who took pleasure in humiliating and torturing others.
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Not only did Tyrion not get angry, but he held the huge golden cup in both hands, raised his head and began to drink.
The wine overflowed from the corners of his mouth, flowed to his chin, and mixed with the wine on his head.
Everyone watched as Tyrion held a wine glass bigger than his head and was forced to drink a whole liter of wine.
His throat kept swallowing, and the front of his purple coat was completely soaked, and the color was so dark that it was almost black.
Finally, the cup is empty.
Tyrion's arms were visibly shaking as he put down the gold cup.
His face turned red, whether because of alcohol or humiliation, or both. He took a deep breath, and then said in a terrifyingly calm voice, "Thank you Your Majesty for the reward."
Joffrey stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly not satisfied with Uncle's reaction.
"Huh." Finally, he snorted, turned around and walked back to his seat.
When passing by his grandfather Tywin Lannister, the Prime Minister seemed not to even raise his eyelids, but continued to cut the roast meat on the plate with a knife and fork.
On the other side of the main table, Lady Olenna Redwin had a panoramic view of all this.
"Your grandson is very... talented for acting, Lord Tywin."
Hearing this, Tywin still did not raise his head, but simply said, "Joffrey is the king, and today is his wedding."
Olenna stared at Tywin for a long time, then slowly shook her head. "The boy sitting on the Iron Throne, today he can humiliate his Uncle in public, and tomorrow he can humiliate anyone who makes him unhappy. Today he pours wine on his head, and tomorrow he may use a sword. How long can such a king sit on the Iron Throne?"
As soon as these words came out, Tywin's pupils shrank slightly.
"Joffrey Your Majesty is still young and needs teaching." He said firmly.
"Some people cannot be taught well." Olenna wiped her mouth and her voice returned to its usual briskness. "Just like some horses, they are born wild and difficult to tame. No matter how hard they are whipped, it will be useless."
After saying that, he started eating again, as if what he just said was just insignificant gossip.
But Tywin understood.
If a horse that is born wild and untamable refuses to be disciplined, then the only option is... to change it to another one.
Thinking like this, he couldn't help but look at Joffrey in the main seat.
The king was laughing loudly at a waiter who knocked over a plate and ordered the waiter to kneel down to pick up the food. Cersei sat next to her son, not only did she not stop him, but she smiled in approval.
She was always like this, doting on Joffrey to the point of blindness.
Tywin looked at Marga Li again.
The young Queen was gently trying to dissuade her husband, patting his arm and whispering something. Joffrey seemed to have listened and let the waiter go.
This scene looks very harmonious, with the handsome king and the beautiful Queen, Queen gently guiding the king towards kindness.
But Tywin saw something deeper.
At this moment, the door to the banquet hall opened.
The person who came in was neither a waiter nor a nobleman.
But a group of...Tyrion.
They were almost as tall as Tyrion, dressed in colorful clown costumes, and walked into the banquet hall in a crooked line.
Some played the flute, some beat the snare drum, and two carried a flag with funny patterns. At the end of the team, the four strongest Tyrion carried a miniature stage.
It's really very small, only as high as a normal person's knee.
The banquet hall suddenly burst into unbridled laughter, and even Tywin frowned this time because he had not arranged this show.
However, Joffrey jumped up from his seat, his face flushed with excitement. "Here it comes! My surprise is here! Come on, start the show!"
Soon, Tyrion placed the miniature stage in the open space in the center of the banquet hall.
Then one of them walked up to Joffrey and gave a ridiculously exaggerated salute. "Great Joffrey Baratheon I King Your Majesty, your humblest, funniest and smallest servants present you with the play - "The War of the Five Kings"!"
"Start! Start!" Joffrey slapped the table.
At the King's urging, the drama begins.
It's not so much a drama as a carefully prepared farce.
Tyrions use exaggerated movements and high-pitched voices to play various roles, Renly, Stannis...
The most outrageous one was Tyrion who played Robb Stark. He wore a furry wolf-headed hat and was "decapitated" by another Tyrion who played Walder Frey, and then the head was stuffed into the belly of a toy wolf.
Joffrey laughed shrilly, laughing so hard he laughed, "Well done! Hahaha!"
The smile of Marga li beside him froze on her face. Although this wedding directly destroyed the North's rebellion, performing this scene in public at their wedding... was really a bit too much.
She couldn't help but look at her grandmother, but saw that Lady Olenna had no expression on her face.
There was uneven applause in the banquet hall.
Some people genuinely find it funny, while others are just forced to agree.
Tyrion sat in his seat, watching those "similar people" of the same height as himself perform such humiliating dramas. His fists were clenched so tightly under the table that his nails almost pierced his palms.
At this moment, the side door of the banquet hall opened.
The person who came in this time made all the laughter stop abruptly.
Jaime Lannister.
Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is wearing a full set of White Armor today, wearing a snow-white cloak, but there is no joy of attending the wedding on her face.
On the contrary, his expression was cold and hard, and his green eyes like Jade were burning with anger.
Jaime did not go to the king, but walked straight across the banquet hall until he reached the head table and stopped in front of Tywin Lannister.
"Father." He lowered his voice deliberately. "I need to talk to you. Now."
Tywin raised his head and looked at his son, but did not agree to his request and refused directly, "It is the king's wedding banquet now, James Ser, you have the responsibility to guard Your Majesty."
"This can't wait!"
James raised his voice slightly, then quickly lowered his voice. "It's about...Vito·Corleone."
Upon hearing the name Corleone, Tywin's eyes narrowed slightly.
He put down his napkin and stood up slowly. "Let's go out and talk."
The two of them came to a corner of the hall one after another. After getting away from the crowd, James took an anxious step forward and asked in a deep voice, "Why did you send the Redwin fleet to raid Dragonstone after Corleone landed on the island?"
"You promised me that you would only let him negotiate, not die!"
Seeing James so excited, Tywin's eyes flashed with dissatisfaction and he said coldly, "Corleone is a servant of Lannister.
"He served the Lannister and served the Seven Kingdoms. If his death can bring benefits to the Seven Kingdoms, then this is his value."
"So you sent him to die?" James looked at his father in disbelief, becoming even more emotional. "You used him to make him think he had a mission, but in fact you just used him as bait and became a victim?"
"He's my friend!!"
"Friends?" Tywin sneered, with a trace of ridicule in his voice. "You are already in your thirties, James, and you still believe in such a childish thing as a friend?"
"In Game of Thrones, only the interests of the family come first!"
"Vito·Corleone is a dangerous person. The order he established in Flea Bottom, his influence in the underground world, and his control over civilians are beyond the scope of a servant."
"He is becoming a force, a force that is not controlled by the Lannister. Such a force will either be absorbed or destroyed."
With that said, Tywin also took a step forward, stared at his son and warned him in an unquestionable tone, "I gave him a chance."
"I asked him to go to Dragonstone. If he can really convince Stannis to surrender, it will prove that he is still useful. If he dies in the process, it will clear up a future trouble."
"No matter what, the Lannisters are the winners."
As soon as these words came out, James fell silent.
He shook his head and backed away, as if he was really getting to know his father for the first time, and his voice was a little bitter. "So... you have been plotting against him from the beginning."
"From the moment you appointed him Chief Intelligence Officer of the Small Council", from the moment you asked him to clean out the flea nest, you have been planning this day."
"You let him build up power, make him feel important, and then abandon him when the time is right."
"Whether he is my... friend or not, whether he has saved my life or not."
"This is the art of ruling, Jaime." Seeing that Jaime was still a "friend", Tywin also shook his head with some disappointment and replied, "You will never learn, my eldest son, my heir. You can only swing a sword, only dream, and only be sentimental for some illusory honors and friendship."
These words were like a slap in the face, so loud that James couldn't speak for a long time.
"I'm going to Dragonstone, now."
Suddenly, he raised his head and said stubbornly, "No matter what, I want to see Corleone and bring him back..."
Just before James finished speaking, a chaotic sound suddenly came from the banquet hall.
James glanced back and saw the nobles standing up from their seats, some exclaimed, some backed away, and some tried to push forward to get a better look.
The waiters stood there, not knowing what to do.
He frowned, his duties as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard made him instinctively feel that something was wrong.
Ignoring Tywin, he strode through the crowd and squeezed in. The scene in front of him instantly stunned James, and his mind went blank!
The king, who had been enjoying the drama so peacefully, suddenly fell to the ground and vomited blood. His skin turned purple and veins popped out. He was obviously poisoned!
"Joffrey!"
After finally reacting, he immediately exclaimed and rushed forward to hold his son in his arms. But at this time, Joffrey's limbs were shaking violently, his eyes were turning white, and blood was flowing out of his mouth and nose. It was obvious that he was dying!
"Let him go!"
A scream sounded.
I saw Cersei pushing away the crowd, rushing over like a crazy lioness, pushing Jaime away, and snatched her son into her arms.
"Joffrey!"
"My son! Look at me! Look at me!"
Her voice was filled with tears as she called for her son, but Joffrey could no longer hear her.
His twitching became weaker and weaker, and finally stopped completely. The eyes that were once full of cruelty and arrogance were now open and empty, reflecting the towering Dome in the banquet hall.
He is dead.
The young king died at his wedding banquet, in front of three hundred nobles, and in his mother's arms.
A deathly silence enveloped the entire banquet hall.
After confirming that her son was no longer breathing, Cersei slowly raised her head.
Her blond hair was messy, and the delicate makeup on her face was stained by tears, but her green eyes, like Tywin's, were burning with crazy anger.
His eyes swept across the crowd, and finally settled on one person.
Tyrion Lannister.
His clothes were still wet, his hair was still messy, and there were still wine stains on his face. Among the chaotic crowd around him, he looked like a forgotten ornament, standing there helplessly holding a wine bottle.
"You."
Cersei's voice cracked. "It's you!"
Hearing this, Tyrion was stunned.
But he couldn't say a word, because he poured the wine himself, and no one would believe him at this time.
"It was you who poisoned me!"
Cersei continued to scream, the sound almost sharp enough to pierce her eardrums, "You poured him wine! You kept pouring wine!"
You poisoned my son! You poisoned the king!"
"Arrest him! Arrest the murderer! Arrest the regicide!"
Upon hearing this, the Kingsguard immediately stepped forward without hesitation and tightly controlled Tyrion.
However, at this moment of extreme chaos, the door of the banquet hall was suddenly slammed open.
Adam·Malbrand Ser rushed in.
This Commander of the City Watch's armor was covered in dust and his breathing was rapid. He had obviously been running all the way.
He ignored the chaos in the banquet hall and didn't even see Joffrey's body on the ground for the first time. He ran straight to Tywin and knelt down on one knee, shouting, "Lord Tywin! Urgent military situation!"
"The Redwin fleet mutinied! Paxter Redwin Earl died at the hands of Vito·Corleone. Murderer Corleone shouted before jumping into the sea that he had received your order. At present, Hopper Redwin has taken control of the fleet and is sailing back to Arbor!"
As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden gasp of air in the banquet hall.
Tywin is still as steady as a rock, but everyone can see that his face has become quite ugly, and his eyes are staring at Adam.
The king was murdered and there were such huge changes on the front line.
It's a coincidence.
Or was it planned in advance?
Vito·Corleone not only did not die, but also killed Paxter, framed himself, and supported Hopper to rise to power.
And the Tyrell family... how much do they know about this matter?
Out of control.
Everything is out of control.
Tywin closed his eyes and was silent for a long time. When he opened them again, all emotions had disappeared, leaving only determination.
"Marin Ser." He said calmly, "Arrest Tyrion Lannister and imprison Red Keep Dungeons for regicide."
"Ser Adam, seal the Red Fort immediately, prohibit anyone from entering or exiting, implement control at all docks, and put the Capital Guard on the highest alert."
"Kevan, you are responsible for stabilizing the Imperial Council and notifying all ministers to assemble urgently."
The orders were issued clearly and calmly.
The prime minister appears to be back in control, at least on the surface.