The early morning sunlight slanted into the Prime Minister's Tower through the high windows, casting golden light spots on the floor.
Lord Hand Tywin Lannister sits on his Golden Toilet.
This is probably one of the most peculiar pieces of furniture in the entire Red Keep. It is made entirely of pure gold. The seat is inlaid with soft crimson velvet. The armrests are carved in the shape of lion paws. There is also a cushion on the back embroidered with the lion emblem of the Lannister family.
This was a gift given to his wife Joanna by her brother Stafford Lannister when he inherited the title of Duke of Casterly Rock.
Although his brother-in-law is famous for flattering him, I have to say that this flattering made Tywin very comfortable.
Tywin, who was the Mad King's Prime Minister at the time, accepted this "giant gift" expressionlessly, and then placed it in his private Washroom, where he used it for more than ten years.
When Corleone went to the meeting alone, the conversation between them just reminded Tywin that his Golden Toilet was still in Casterly Rock City, so he sent someone to rush to the West to get it.
I have to say that the thermal conductivity of gold is indeed not very good, so it was a bit cold to sit in in late autumn.
But Tywin didn't care.
He likes the feeling of sitting here, not because of how valuable gold is, but because no one dares to disturb him in this place.
This is the only time in the entire Red Keep that belongs to him.
There is no royal council, no annoying nobles, no stupid and crazy daughter, and no troublesome son who goes to the Wall without saying a word.
Not even...
Tywin's brows furrowed.
Damn it.
He almost thought of that name just now.
Vito·Corleone.
Tywin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to relax.
But this doesn't work.
He had been sitting for almost two quarters of an hour, but what was supposed to come never came.
.. constipation.
This word did not originally exist in the dictionary of Tywin Lannister. He was the Duke of Casterly Rock, the Prime Minister of the Seven Kingdoms, and Tywin Lannister who frightened countless people. He controlled the power of the entire Westeros. How could he not be able to control even this little thing?
But the fact is...
.. He really can't control it.
"Damn it." He cursed again in a low voice.
Maybe it's because of age.
He was almost sixty years old, and his body no longer functioned as it did when he was young, and he had been working too hard these days. The North, the Iron Islands, and across the Narrow Sea, he had to worry about everything.
Also...
.. That damn Farmer.
Ever since Corleone appeared in King's Landing, Tywin's plans have been disrupted time and time again.
He originally just wanted to use this Farmer to make a pair of "Hands in the Dark" to handle the dirty work that it was not convenient for Lannister to come forward in person.
What's the result?
Not only were these hands disobedient, they strangled his own neck.
That night, the image of Corleone wearing the white robes of the Kingsguard, standing in his chamber with a sword pointed at his throat, is still like a thorn in Tywin's heart.
It wasn't because he was afraid of death. Tywin Lannister had never been afraid of anyone in his life. Even if someone stood in front of him with a crossbow, Tywin swore to the Seven Gods that he would never frown.
But, he really couldn't figure it out.
If an ordinary sword is thrust into the throat of an ordinary person, why can't it go in?
This problem has troubled him for a long time. Even though Corleone may not be as invulnerable as it seems, he still can't figure out how to defeat the opponent. He can only temporarily compromise with Corleone by wooing him.
Vito·Corleone, this guy is like an unsolvable mystery.
"Hiss"
Tywin took another deep breath and exerted himself.
Still no movement.
He opened his eyes with some irritation and stared at the huge mirror on the opposite wall.
The person in the mirror is still the majestic Tywin Lannister. His blond hair is meticulously combed, his green eyes are deep and sharp, and he maintains an upright posture even when he is sitting on the toilet.
But only he himself knew that at this moment his heart was far less peaceful than his appearance.
"Hmm~~~" he murmured to himself, "What do you want?"
Power?
He has already given it.
Corleone is now the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a member of the Royal Council, and one of the most popular people in King's Landing.
Wealth?
Ring of Order is making a lot of money every day, Flea Bottom's business is all over the city, Corleone has so much money that he can't even count it.
So what else does he want?
Tywin couldn't figure it out.
But he knows one thing, that is, in the imperial meeting yesterday morning, Corleone's attitude made him very uncomfortable.
"The next imperial meeting must be held at Throne Room."
That tone and gesture made it seem like that guy was the master of the Red Castle.
Tywin did not have an attack at that time, because he needed Corleone to deal with the debt of the Iron Bank, which was a huge sum of 1.5 million Gold Dragon. The Iron Throne could not afford to pay it back. Since Corleone took over this hot potato, let him go away from the headache.
Thinking of this, Tywin felt a little better.
Emissary from the Iron Bank should be going to House of Order today. He has seen that Naho·Dimittis. He is an arrogant Braavos man. He relies on the power of the Iron Bank to always show a superior attitude in King's Landing, and even he, the Prime Minister, does not look down on him.
Corleone You should have a headache if you meet him.
Tywin even looked forward to seeing Corleone deflated.
He adjusted his posture and prepared to continue working hard.
Just then...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A rapid knock on the door sounded, shaking the whole Washroom as if it was shaking.
Tywin's brows instantly knit into a knot.
"Who?"
"My lord!"
Captain of the Guard Tybert·Hesban's voice came from outside the door, urgent and nervous. "Vito·Corleone, please see me! He said there is something very important!"
Hearing this, Tywin was stunned.
Corleone?
Now?
His hands instinctively tightened on the golden armrest.
Is it about the Iron Bank?
This thought flashed through my mind.
Corleone just took over this task yesterday and came to see him early this morning. It seems that the matter is more difficult than expected.
Maybe that Naho·Dimittis is more difficult to deal with than he thought, and even Corleone is helpless against it, but this is normal, after all, it is a huge number of one and a half million Gold Dragon.
The corners of Tywin's mouth curved upward slightly.
Very good.
Let that guy who doesn't know the heights of heaven and earth have a taste of headache.
"Let him wait." Tywin said, his voice regaining its usual dignity. "I'll be right back."
"Yes, sir."
The sound of footsteps faded away.
Tywin glanced down and sighed.
It really didn't feel good to be interrupted at a critical moment, but he couldn't let Corleone wait too long, not out of respect, but because he wanted to see what the guy's expression looked like now.
So he hastily settled the matter, stood up and straightened his robes, and took a look at Golden Toilet before leaving.
"Next time." He whispered, as if making a promise to himself, then opened the door and strode out.
In the Prime Minister's office, Corleone is already sitting there.
He was wearing dark gray casual clothes today and did not wear any badges. He looked like any ordinary official who came to the Prime Minister's Tower for business.
Seeing Tywin come in, Corleone stood up very politely and bowed slightly.
"Lord Tywin."
Seeing this, Tywin nodded, walked to the main seat and sat down.
But when he sat down, his buttocks paused for a moment, and his expression was a little painful.
Damn Hemorrhoids.
Since Battle of the Blackwater Rush, this old problem has come to him from time to time. Grand Maester Pycelle said that it was caused by being sedentary for a long time and suggested that he move more.
But where does he have time to move?
But...
I glanced at Corleone quietly, and remembered that the old guy from Pycelle was full of praise for his Medicine, so I suggested that I go and have a look with him.
After thinking about it, Tywin rejected the idea in his heart.
After all, he really can't trust Corleone. Who knows what kind of tricks the other party's Medicine will do in his butt during the operation?
Calmly moving his buttocks to make himself more comfortable, Tywin raised his head and looked at Corleone.
"Corleone-sama."
He spoke, his voice as steady as ever. "You come to me so early, you must have something important."
As he spoke, Tywin paused, and there was a rare hint of teasing in his tone. "Is it about the debt of the Iron Bank?"
"I know that is a large amount of money, one and a half million Gold Dragon, which is indeed difficult to handle. But you are the Minister of Finance, and this is your responsibility. The Iron Throne cannot afford that much money now, so you have to find a way.
"Lord Tywin."
Before Tywin could finish speaking, Corleone interrupted him.
This was very rude, but the look in the other person's dark eyes made Tywin feel uneasy for no reason.
"Emissary from the Iron Bank... is dead."
Tywin:"???"
As soon as these words came out, Tywin immediately stared at Corleone, with confusion appearing in his green eyes for the first time.
"What did you say?"
Seeing that Tywin was so out of sorts, Corleone did not mock him, but repeated very seriously, "Just last night, Naho·Dimittis, the senior deacon of the Iron Bank, died!"
There was a brief silence in the room, and Tywin subconsciously tightened his grip on the armrest.
Dead?
The man from Braavos who was so lively and arrogant not long ago is dead?
Just after he handed over the debt matter to Corleone?
Damn it, could it be said that when Corleone said "I will solve it" yesterday, he did not mean to solve the debt, but to solve the problem of the people who came to collect the debt?
What a joke!
The guys in the Iron Bank are not easy to mess with. If this news comes back to Braavos, and those money-only idiots go crazy, the consequences may even be more serious than Joffrey killing Eddard Stark!
"What's going on?" His voice became colder, with a hint of danger.
Hearing this, Corleone did not lie, but just told what happened in detail. Naho left House of Order and took a carriage to Silk Street. He was kidnapped on the way and was "unfortunately killed" during his rescue process.
After listening, Tywin fell silent.
No matter what, he couldn't believe that Emissary, the dignified Iron Bank of Braavos, would be so arrogant as to walk through the streets of King's Landing with only one servant!
Do you really trust the security of King's Landing that much?
Or should I say...
"Please tell me, Master Corleone."
Glancing at Corleone, Tywin took a deep breath and asked extremely seriously, "This matter has nothing to do with you."
"Of course, Lord Tywin!"
Seeing that Tywin doubted himself, Corleone immediately put his right hand on his chest. "I swear to the Seven Gods, I never sent anyone to assassinate Mr. Naho. This incident was purely an accident!"
He said it with full confidence, but Tywin's green eyes still stared at him for a long time before he believed Corleone's statement.
After all, it's obviously not Corleone's style to dare to do something but not to behave it wrongly.
Although this guy Corleone is cunning, he never does meaningless things. What good will killing Naho do to him?
Moreover, it is no longer important whether this matter has anything to do with Corleone, the most important thing now is...
"Naho is dead, this is a fact."
After only thinking for a few seconds, Tywin immediately raised his head and ordered Corleone: "What we have to do now is to delay the time for the news to be sent back to Braavos as much as possible!"
As he spoke, his tone suddenly became stern. "As the Minister of Finance, you must be responsible for the death of someone from the Iron Bank."
"I order you to send your men to deal with all the people brought by Naho, as well as the merchant ships and the guys traveling with them."
"No one shall be left alive!"
Hearing this, Corleone looked at him with a hint of appreciation in his eyes.
Although this old guy Tywin is not very polite sometimes, his style of doing things really makes him very satisfied.
"On this matter, my lord."
Under Tywin's gaze, Corleone just smiled tacitly, "You and I have thought of it together."
"To tell you the truth, I already sent people to handle it last night. After Naho was killed, I immediately sent people to the Blackwater Bay Pier."
Hearing that Corleone responded so quickly, Tywin nodded, and then asked worriedly, "Has everything been taken care of?"
"Absolutely clean."
Corleone snapped his fingers and raised his eyebrows and said, "Not only that, I also bribed one of Naho's assistants. That guy has been with Naho for more than ten years. He knows the procedures of the Iron Bank clearly and can also imitate Naho's handwriting skillfully."
"With the care of Black Hand Mafia, he promised to help us. From now on, he will write to the Iron Bank regularly to report that Deacon Naho is negotiating with the Iron Throne and that it is going smoothly."
"In this way, the Iron Bank will think that Naho is still negotiating with us in King's Landing, and when they find out something is wrong...
"At least it will be a few months later."
Hearing Corleone's calm and composed answer, Tywin was speechless for a moment.
Although this was not the first time, this young man in his early twenties was actually more thoughtful than he thought and was ahead of himself every step of the way!
Somehow, Tywin suddenly remembered the days when he was young and had just become the Hand of the King.
He was also like this at that time, wanting to be ahead of others every step of the way.
"If he were my son...
99
No.
As soon as this thought came up, Tywin shook his head in his mind.
If Corleone is his son, then maybe he will have to abdicate the moment the other party reaches adulthood.
"You did a good job." He praised thoughtfully, but there was no emotion in his voice.
Corleone bowed slightly humbly. "It is the duty of every imperial minister to share the worries of the Iron Throne."
Seeing this, Tywin couldn't help but sneer in his heart.
However, he did not utter any words of ridicule. After all, Corleone would be responsible for what happened after the Iron Bank.
"What are your plans next?" Tywin asked.
Corleone spread his hands and said calmly, "Not yet."
"No?" Tywin frowned.
"No." Corleone repeated, and then explained in a matter-of-fact manner, "What we are facing is a debt of one and a half million Gold Dragon, Lord Tywin."
"Everyone knows that the national treasury is declining day by day, and this is not a problem that can be solved overnight."
"What I can do now is to hold them off for as long as I can. As for what happens next...
As he said that, he looked at Tywin with a smile on his lips, "We'll talk about it later."
Hearing this, Tywin fell silent. After all, this answer made him not know what to say for a while.
If someone else says this, he will feel that the other person is incompetent and irresponsible.
But Corleone said this, but it gave him a strange feeling, as if the other party really had a good idea, but he just didn't want to say it.
"But...
99
Just when Tywin was thinking about how to deal with the aftermath of Naho's incident, Corleone suddenly had a narrow expression on his face and said, "It's not like we don't have good news at all."
"Good news?" Tywin looked at Corleone suspiciously.
The other party smiled like a spring breeze, but the twinkling look in those dark eyes made him feel "thumping" in his heart again.
For a moment.
Because just now, Corleone had this expression before reporting the death of Naho.
"That's right, my lord!"
Sure enough, under Tywin's doubtful gaze, Corleone's smile became brighter, "The good news is...
"I caught the murderer of Naho!"
E