There was a deathly silence in the hall.
Oberyn's words were very destructive. He not only questioned Tywin's memory, but also questioned Lannister's credibility, and finally proposed an alternative plan.
Although no one paid attention to his suggestion that Tywin should abdicate and become Prime Minister himself.
After all, everyone knows that this guy doesn't know how to govern at all and is quite messy.
When he was in Dorne, he had an affair with the mistress of the old Earl of the Eron Wood family. After it was discovered later, he poisoned the sword and plotted to kill her during the duel. This brought the relationship between Eron Wood and the Martell family to a freezing point.
In order to escape justice, he had to flee to Essos.
In the end, it was his brother, Prince Doran, who personally came forward to wipe Oberyn's butt and sent his eldest son Quentin to the Eron Wood family as an adopted son, which settled the matter.
Who the hell can a normal lord who can govern a place do such a bastard thing?
However, although his ability to govern the territory is questionable, he has successfully questioned Tywin's ability to rule at this moment. If these words get out and are heard by those duplicitous families, they may cause some trouble.
After all, although Tywin Lannister is famous, everyone will grow old one day, right?
There are more than one monarchs who were wise when they were young but became dim when they got old.
No one here dared to speak. Mace Tyrell's face turned the color of pig liver. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Tywin stopped him with a look.
Tywin's expression remained unchanged.
He just slowly separated his folded hands, his right hand gently pressed on the documents on the table, and his left hand rested on the armrest of the chair. This subtle movement let everyone know that the Prime Minister was about to speak.
But Oberyn was still outputting, giving him no chance to speak.
"Oh, that's right!" The out-of-touch Prince of Dorne seemed to suddenly remember something, and patted his forehead. "I almost forgot about business."
"My lover Ellaria passed by Cured Meat Street this morning. Guess what she told me she saw?"
He paused deliberately, glanced at everyone, and then revealed a cunning and extremely exaggerated smile on his face, "Thousands! Thousands of fully armed gold robes, a dense black mass, surrounding Flea Bottom. That formation, tsk tsk, those who didn't know would have thought they were going to attack Storm's End Castle."
As he spoke, he sneered, glanced at Duke Mace Tyrell thoughtfully, and then shook his head. "It's so funny!"
"It takes so much manpower to deal with a bunch of defenseless poor people, but they still can't win?"
"With all due respect, Lord Tywin, are all your gold robes made of paper?"
Oberyn's expression was exaggerated, and he leaned forward again, placing his hands on the table, almost leaning against it, and joked, "You should have told me earlier."
"I'll bring hundreds of Dorne spearmen from Sunspear, and within one day, I promise to help you build that strong castle... If that pile of shabby shacks can be called a castle, hahaha."
Hearing this, everyone present looked at each other in confusion, their eyes flashing.
Everyone heard what happened in Flea Bottom last night, but no one dared to mention it, because mentioning it would mean questioning Tywin's ability to rule.
But Oberyn's words almost put it on the table nakedly.
The stalemate in Flea Bottom is a fact, and it is also a fact that the Golden Robe cannot be conquered for a long time.
But openly ridiculing these facts in the royal council is tantamount to openly tearing apart Tywin's pretense of "having everything under control" in front of all power players.
What's even more poisonous is that he deliberately exaggerated Flea Bottom's resistance and described an operation to suppress the poor as if it were a regular siege, which greatly humiliated Tywin and the Golden Robes' abilities.
However, Mace Tyrell is the only one who does not know what is going on.
The Lord of Highgarden had just arrived in King's Landing and was so focused on showing his loyalty that he didn't even have time to understand what had happened in Flea Bottom.
Hearing Oberyn's taunt, he instinctively thought that this was the Dornish people slandering Lord Tywin's wise rule.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
It's my turn!
Seeing that everyone was silent, Mace Tyrell stood up suddenly, almost overturning his chair in excitement.
Pointing at Oberyn's nose, he yelled, "Shit!"
"Pure nonsense. Under Lord Tywin's rule, King's Landing is in good order. How could the situation you mentioned happen?"
"To say the least, even if there is a riot in King's Landing, with Lord Tywin's ability, how could it be possible that so many people would not be able to suppress it? It's all nonsense!"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became. He turned to face Tywin and bowed deeply. "My Lord Prime Minister, please don't listen to the slander of this Dornish lunatic!"
"The Tyrell family is firmly on your side. We believe that under your leadership, King's Landing and even the entire Seven Kingdoms will usher in unprecedented prosperity and peace!"
Mace spoke impassionedly, his cheeks flushed with excitement.
But he didn't notice that when his words fell, the corners of Kevan's mouth twitched slightly. Grand Maester Pycelle lowered his head and pretended to organize the files on the table, while Varys...
This guy's forehead is already bright enough, but now that it's buried, the sun shines on it and it looks even brighter.
He is as good as the Prime Minister.
Even as calm as Tywin, the moment Mace spoke his words, his expression became extremely ugly.
The Duke of Metz made a fatal mistake. In a political struggle, the most stupid behavior is not to stand on the wrong side, but to still tell lies when everyone knows it.
Not only will this not please Tywin, but it will make the Prime Minister think that Duke Tyrell is a fool, and... this fool reminded everyone in public that "something big happened in Flea Bottom."
It can be said that Mace's flattery hit Tywin right in the leg.
"Please sit down, Master Tyrell."
Tywin took a deep breath. His voice was low and steady, but those who knew him well could hear the suppressed chill beneath the calmness.
Mace was stunned for a moment, and then realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
He opened his mouth in embarrassment, obviously not knowing why he had offended the Prime Minister.
However, due to the murderous look in his eyes, he finally resigned and sat back on the chair. His emerald green coat wrinkled due to too much movement, and the gold Rose on his chest looked dim.
After dealing with this idiot, Tywin no longer looked at him, and his eyes fell on Oberyn's face again.
"There are indeed some riots in Flea Bottom." This time, the Prime Minister finally got a chance to speak, and his tone was very calm. "Some profiteers who are hoarding supplies and intending to disrupt the market order took the opportunity to cause chaos. I have ordered Adam Malbrand Ser to deal with it."
"The actions of the golden robes are to quickly control the situation, prevent the spread of riots, and protect the safety of the majority of law-abiding citizens in King's Landing."
He paused and looked directly at Oberyn with his green eyes. "Peace will be restored there before sunset today."
This sentence was spoken with absolute certainty and unquestionable authority.
This is Tywin Lannister's style, never denying the problem, but always claiming that the problem is under control and will be solved.
However, the problem is... what if the problem is not solved before sunset?
But perhaps in Tywin's view, nearly half of the golden robes had no problem suppressing such a level of riot.
But after hearing Tywin's answer, Oberyn raised his eyebrows, and the sarcasm in his smile became even more intense.
"Really?"
"But how did I hear..." he drawled. "Not only did the golden robes kill more than a dozen officers in one night, but they couldn't even afford breakfast?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked.
Tywin frowned, an extremely dangerous look flashed in his eyes.
A dozen officers died?
Can't even afford to eat?
What does it mean?
Saying to his face that Lannister has no money?
Doesn't this slap Tywin Lannister in the face in front of all the Lord Chamberlain?
Lannister must pay its debts, but more importantly, Lannister is never short of money, which is one of the cornerstones of the family's authority.
But then, Tywin realized a more serious problem.
The golden robes didn't have breakfast?
How is this possible?
He personally approved two days ago to allocate three thousand Gold Dragon from the treasury as special funds for supplies for Operation Flea Bottom!
If what Oberyn said is true, then the death of officers means the paralysis of the chain of command, and the lack of food for soldiers means the collapse of morale.
If these two things are true, then the situation in Flea Bottom is far from just a "minor problem", but is close to being completely out of control!
What's even more fatal is... Tywin, as Prime Minister, doesn't know anything about it!
Because the report sent by Adam Malbrand this morning only said that "encountering slight resistance, the blockade has been strengthened" and did not mention the death of officers and the lack of food for soldiers at all!
Did Adam conceal the truth, or... did Adam himself lose control of the troops?
Suppressing the doubts and anger in his heart, Tywin maintained calm on the surface.
Tywin slowly turned his head, his eyes piercing the other end of the long table like ice blades.
"Lord Varys."
Hearing this, the intelligence chief raised his head, with an unpredictable smile on his round and smooth face.
"Have you heard of this?" Tywin asked, his voice eerily calm.
Wallis blinked and seemed to be thinking about something seriously. After several breaths, he seemed to remember. "It seems... there is such a thing, sir."
As he spoke, he tilted his head, as if trying to remember. "My little birds did mention it before, I remember it."
"There was a quartermaster who seemed to have accepted bribes from some merchants and replaced the flour that was supposed to be supplied to the Golden Robes with... well, something not so fresh."
"As for the death of the golden-robed officer, I have also heard some, but I think those are just market rumors and unconfirmed gossip."
"I thought that Ser Adam would report to you in detail, so I didn't mention it specifically."
Wallis's voice became softer and softer, and finally he was almost talking to himself, but in the silent hall, every word was clear and ear-piercing.
Tywin's hand that was placed under the table suddenly clenched, and he, who had always been steady, almost broke his guard.
Then you didn't fucking tell me earlier!
This curse exploded in Tywin's heart, but there was still no expression on his face.
This damn eunuch!
He is always like this. If you ask, he will tell you. If you don't ask, he will always remain silent.
It's as if all the secrets he has are just used to cause chaos at critical moments.
Sometimes Tywin even suspected that this eunuch was not serving the Seven Kingdoms, but that he was playing a game whose rules only he knew.
Suppressing the urge to draw his sword and chop off the bald head on the spot, Tywin slowly loosened his grip.
But Oberyn obviously didn't intend to miss this good opportunity to laugh at Lannister.
"Oh~~~" the Prince of Dorne prolonged his tone, as if he had discovered something hugely interesting. "So that's it! The quartermaster was corrupt, many officers died, and the golden robes besieged the city hungry, but our Prime Minister didn't know anything about it!"
He slapped the table and laughed, and the laughter echoed in the hall, which was so harsh that it made people's scalp numb. "Wonderful! So wonderful! Lord Tywin, there are really new dramas in King's Landing under your rule every day!"
"The king was poisoned not long ago. Today the army has no food. What about tomorrow? Will the toilets in the Red Fort be blocked tomorrow and the whole palace smells bad?"
Oberyn laughed so hard that he even wiped the corners of his eyes exaggeratedly.
"Seriously, Tywin Lannister, if you are short of money, please tell us earlier. Although our Martell family is not as wealthy as the Lannister family, we can still do it by spending thousands of Gold Dragon to support our allies."
As he said that, he immediately stopped laughing, stared into Tywin's eyes, and said seriously, "It's better than letting the soldiers go to war hungry, right?"
As soon as these words came out, the Prime Minister's expression finally showed a slight change.
But Tywin was Tywin after all. He quickly suppressed his personal emotions again and said forcefully, "The Lannister family is never short of money."
He paused and glanced at Varys: "Lord Kevan, thoroughly investigate the death of the officer and the embezzlement of military rations. All those involved will be dealt with according to the strictest military law."
The Minister of Justice straightened his back. "Yes."
Simple, cool and efficient.
This is Tywin's usual style. When a problem is exposed to the sun, he crushes it with thunderous means to prove that everything is still under control.
But Oberyn obviously came prepared today and didn't intend to let Tywin get through so easily.
"Disposal according to military law?" Prince Dorne sneered and shook his head, "What an interesting wording."
"Every time your brother caused bloodshed, you were busy behind the scenes and dealt with him according to military law," but the person you dealt with was never the real murderer."
His main target was still Tywin, but when he glanced at Kevan from the corner of his eye, his words were full of undisguised contempt. "After the massacre of Castamere, who was busy packaging the genocide as quelling the rebellion in Castermere? Is it you, Lord Kevan?"
"You were not the Minister of Justice at that time, but the work you had always done was essentially the same.
"6"
"Let me think about which other families have disappeared under the Lannister justice." Oh, by the way, everyone here should still remember that song, right?"
Oberyn suddenly hummed, the tune was strange and eerie. "The rain is crying in the hall, but there is no soul inside...
He sang the famous "The Rains of Castamere", a song that once made Lannister proud, but it seemed so ironic in Oberyn.
"That's enough."
Tywin finally interrupted him, his voice was not loud, but it made the air in the entire hall freeze.
"Prince Oberyn." For the first time, the Prime Minister showed a trace of detectable anger. "Kevan Lannister is a loyal minister and a competent Minister of Justice. His management of Casterly Rock City is obvious to all...
"Loyalty??" Oberyn interrupted with a laugh, his laughter full of crazy sarcasm. "Loyalty to whom? Loyalty to the Iron Throne? Loyalty to the law?"
"No! He's just loyal to you!"
"Tywin Lannister, you have allowed your brother to be a shadow for forty years, and now you have helped him to this position. Do you think that giving him the robes of the Lord Advocate can wash away the dirt on his hands when he wiped your blood?"
As he spoke, he looked around and glanced at every face. "You all know the truth. You sit here and pretend that all this is a legal rule, but we all know very well that the Iron Throne is poured with blood! The power of Lannister is built with betrayal!"
"And every one of you is an eater of this sinful feast!"
Hearing this, Mace Tyrell couldn't bear it anymore. He slammed the table and stood up suddenly, his face turned red. "Arrogant! You actually slandered us..."
"What dare I?"
But in the face of his scolding, Oberyn, who had already gone crazy, did not intend to stop. Instead, he turned on the violent mode and started spraying.
He looked at Mace Tyrell, and the smile returned to his face, but this time it was an unabashed mockery. "Sir Tyrell, your family's performance in the Usurper War is really impressive."
"You keep saying allegiance to Targaryen, but Rhaegar Prince died in battle at Trident. You will withdraw from Storm's End and offer food and loyalty to Robert Baratheon."
As soon as these words came out, Mace's face instantly turned pale, but Oberyn continued to refuse, "The previous war was even more exciting. Renly Baratheon had just died, and you immediately fell to Joffrey... No, fell to Lannister."
"The speed of surrender would put even the most fickle prostitute in Lys to shame!"
"You... you..." Angered by these remarks, Mace's whole body began to tremble, and he pointed at Oberyn.
But Oberyn didn't give him a chance to speak at all. He turned and pointed at Grand Maester Pycelle who was huddled in the corner.
"And you, Lord Pycelle." Prince Dorne continued to blast, "I heard that the reason why King Aerys Targaryen opened the gates of King's Landing was because you, the Grand Maester, had slandered him!"
Unexpectedly, the other party would call his name. Pycelle, who was sitting peacefully, suddenly turned gray, and the quill in his hand fell to the table with a "clack".
"What's the result?"
"The first thing the Lannister army did after entering the city was to massacre the Targaryens, rape my sister Elia Martell, and throw her and Prince Rhaegar's two children against the wall to death!"
He paused and glanced at Pycelle with cold eyes. "And you, Grand Maester, you are still the Grand Maester, still sitting here, serving the new king, oh no, now you are the new Prime Minister."
"This loyalty is really touching!"
The hall fell into an eerie silence.
Mace·Tyrell stood there, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word.
Grand Maester Pycelle lowered his head, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Kevan's face was livid, Varys was still smiling, but there was a sharp light flashing deep in his eyes.
No one knows what Oberyn wants to do.
This Prince of Dorne suddenly appeared, but his purpose seemed not to convince anyone at all, but to completely disrupt the Imperial Council and turn it into a farce of mutual exposure!
And, he did it!
With the power of one person, he actually scolded the entire Imperial Council to the point where they could not reply back!
It wasn't until he finished venting that Oberyn watched all of this with satisfaction. He leaned back on the chair, put his hands behind his head, and swayed the toes of his upturned boots rhythmically.
"So."
"Our imperial council is really full of talents. A prime minister who slaughters allies, a minister of justice who is responsible for wiping the prime minister's butt, a bachelor who rebelled against the old master, a duke who adapts to the situation, a...
, he looked at Wallis and tilted his head. "A eunuch who never knows who he is serving."
Oberyn spread his hands and smiled brightly, "I'm not surprised at all that such a combination can manage King's Landing like it is now, really."
Silence.
There was a suffocating silence for a full minute.
The sun still shines through the high windows, and the floating dust still rolls in the light beam.
But everything was different. The solemn, solemn, and authoritative pretense of the Royal Council was completely torn apart by Oberyn in the most brutal way.
He did not propose any substantive solutions, did not push any agenda, and did not even have clear political demands.
It was as if his sole purpose of appearing here today was to severely humiliate the Prime Minister, humiliate the entire Royal Council, and humiliate the Lannister rule!
Finally, Tywin slowly stood up.
His movements were slow and steady, but every detail conveyed the pressure of an impending storm.
"The meeting is suspended."
The Prime Minister's voice was calm, but it carried an unmistakable sense of finality.
"Kevan, you go handle the quartermaster's matter. I want to see the results before sunset."
"Lord Mace, please return to Highgarden immediately after Tyrion Lannister's trial is over to deal with the rebellion of the Redwin fleet. They are vassals of your Tyrell family and should be resolved by you."
"Grand Maester Pycelle, sort out all the documents regarding Tyrion's trial and deliver them to my study tonight."
"Lord Varys...
,, Tywin paused, and his eyes fell on the face of the intelligence chief. "I need to know what happened in Flea Bottom."
"It's not "like", not "heard", it's accurate information. Put it on my desk before sunrise tomorrow."
Finally, he looked at Oberyn.
The two people's eyes collided in the air, as if sparks could fly in and out.
"Prince Oberyn Martell."
"As the representative of Dorne, you have the right to attend the royal meeting, but please be careful about your words and attitude. King's Landing is not Sunspear, and the rules here are."
Hearing this, Oberyn grinned. "Of course, Prime Minister, as we all know, I have always respected the rules the most!"
However, the sarcasm in his tone was too strong to be dispelled.
Tywin stopped looking at him, turned around, and walked towards the door. The crimson cloak drew a sharp arc behind him.
Just as he was about to step out of the hall, Oberyn's voice sounded again, not loud, but enough for everyone to hear clearly:
By the way, Tywin Lannister."
The Prime Minister paused slightly, but did not look back.
Oberyn stood up and was about to leave.
When he walked to the door and passed Tywin, he whispered softly at a volume that only the two of them could hear, "Say hello to the Mountain for me and tell him that I have been waiting for him to recover."
After saying that, the Prince of Dorne laughed loudly and walked away.
There were only a few imperial ministers left in the hall, looking at each other with no one speaking.