The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Eddard Stark remained behind, not personally going to arrest Ser Amory Lorch, because he had to deal with Queen Cersei's matter. Perhaps Robert would return tomorrow, or perhaps in a month. But going to the Westerlands to arrest Ser Amory Lorch would take more than a month to return.

The journey from King's Landing to the Westerlands and back would take more than a month.

The Westerlands were powerful, and Tyrion's crimes still awaited a formal and legal trial, while Cersei's inhuman acts were already clear, the three children being the greatest evidence.

Eddard couldn't leave King's Landing because of Cersei's matter.

It was terrifying to think that if Cersei and Jaime's incest were not exposed, the rule of the kingdom would rightfully fall into the hands of the Lannisters. This land was won by the Baratheon, Stark, Arryn, and Tully families, and after only one generation of Robert I, it would become the Lannister family's possession.

Of course, Eddard's kindness and his knightly spirit prevented him from ordering Cersei's immediate arrest, which was a huge mistake. Since the law stipulated that he exercise all the rights of the king, he should have decisively arrested Cersei, thrown her into prison, and taken the innocent three children as hostages, thereby securing the overall situation and preventing the Westerlands from easily raising troops.

But he gave Queen Cersei too much freedom and time, which also allowed the Westerlands to raise troops without any scruples, and this was extremely fatal.

When Eddard sought to negotiate with Cersei, it was the best time to arrest her. With Cersei in hand, no one around her would dare to act rashly, thereby securing the overall situation with one move.

But he was foolish enough to wait for King Robert to return, negating his own supreme position and power as the acting king. In the beginning, Cersei was still somewhat fearful. She attempted to seduce Eddard with her feminine charms, indicating that she still hoped the scandal could be suppressed, revealing her fear.

Eddard was destined not to become a枭雄 who could turn clouds into rain, and he was far from meeting the standards of a杰人.

Jaime had already raised troops in the Westerlands at the Golden Tooth, which was the only official road that cut off the connection between the Riverlands and the Westerlands. The Westerlands would raise troops even for a small imp to regain face and the family's honor, let alone Cersei, who was the queen of a country, with a position, honor, and influence far above Tyrion. Whether it was Eddard or Robert, as soon as they moved against Cersei, civil war would be inevitable.

War was ruthless. Only the victor was worthy of talking about benevolence and kindness. The defeated would disappear, their reputation ruined. Where would benevolence come from?

Varys and Littlefinger both saw through this point of Eddard's: indecisive and lacking in strategy; rigid and inflexible; unable to make appropriate changes based on the specific circumstances!

And after Eddard made the military move to send troops into the Westerlands to arrest Amory Lorch, the three members of the small council in the throne room, Grand Maester Pycelle, needless to say, was firmly opposed; while Littlefinger and Varys both despised Eddard's military action in their hearts, because both knew that such an action was just sending people to the Westerlands to be killed.

With only a hundred-man team, he dared to go to the Westerlands to arrest people from the Westerlands. What exactly was Eddard relying on to be so confident?

If the head being sent was Loras Tyrell, then Eddard would have won, but he rejected Loras Tyrell's request to fight, which was the second point that Littlefinger and Varys looked down on him for. Varys specifically stayed behind after the petition meeting and said a few words to Eddard, which was a subtle reminder to be careful of the Westerlands. He told Eddard that he had humiliated the commander of the city watch, Janos Slynt. Varys was hinting to Eddard that the Westerlands (Janos Slynt) might want his life.

Since Lord Tywin dared to send Ser Amory to attack the people of the Riverlands, and dared to drive the people to King's Landing to report the crime? Then, would Tywin and Ser Amory be afraid of Eddard sending troops to arrest people?

Of course, they wouldn't be afraid. And it was very obvious that the massacre and expulsion was a trap to lure Eddard to send troops.

Eddard was very willing to walk into the trap. The only thing that Tywin miscalculated was that Cersei's incestuous affair led to Eddard not personally leading the army.

Eddard wanted to go to the Westerlands to personally arrest Amory, while Tywin was afraid that he wouldn't go to the Westerlands.

If Eddard had fully estimated the harmfulness of the matter, he might not have sent troops into the Westerlands to arrest a small Ser Amory Lorch, but should have first controlled Cersei, who had already committed the scandal of incest.

There were hundreds or thousands of knights like Amory in the Westerlands. To the Westerlands, an Amory was insignificant, but the weight of a Cersei plus three children was completely different.

What kind of wisdom led Eddard to make the childish move of letting Cersei go and sending more than a hundred people to arrest an Amory?! And for what reason did Eddard have to wait for Robert to return before moving against Cersei? Since he didn't plan to move against Cersei at all, why did he notify her and alarm her, to remind Cersei to prepare everything in advance?!

Eddard had a good hand, but he played it terribly himself.

He was only suitable to be a good official in a clear political environment. He was not good at the complex politics of intrigue and the strategizing of alliances.

*

Eddard sat withered in the study of the Tower of the Hand.

Captain Elyn had taken away his twenty best Northern guards, which made the Tower of the Hand suddenly empty and made Eddard feel the weakness of his power.

Cersei's words of seduction echoed in his mind. At the same time, her hand gently stroked his leg, with a woman's ambiguous hints: "Ned!" She affectionately called him by Robert's nickname, "Joffrey is still young, and the kingdom needs a strong Hand. My Jaime has returned to the Westerlands, and your wife Catelyn is also thousands of miles away. I only want peace in the kingdom. As long as you don't tell Robert about me and Jaime, I bet you won't regret it. I will make you satisfied." Her hand gently and skillfully stroked Eddard's leg.

Her eyes were sweet, and the expression on her face was like spring water rippling.

This almost made Eddard vomit on the spot, even though Cersei, after careful grooming, was as beautiful as the sun.

Eddard shook his head, excluding the hateful Cersei from his mind. He had questioned Cersei why she murdered Jon Arryn, which Cersei flatly denied. But Eddard knew that Jon Arryn must have been murdered by Cersei, because Jon Arryn also knew Cersei's secret. He then thought of Bran Stark, presumably the child was pushed down from the tower by the Lannisters because he heard some secrets, and then assassins were sent to assassinate him.

Paper cannot contain fire, and Cersei and Jaime's affair cannot be concealed forever. More and more people knew their secret, and they killed more and more people. Finally, it would be the king's turn.

*

"Thomard!" Eddard called out.

The study door was pushed open, and a fat guard came in, with a look of trepidation on his face.

Eddard sighed in his heart, suddenly regretting sending his twenty guards to the Westerlands. The best Jory Cassel was killed, the second captain Elyn led the best twenty Northern guards away, and the Thomard in front of him was too fat, his loyalty was beyond doubt, but his martial arts were average, and he lacked courage.

"Go and call Vayon Poole in."

"Yes, my lord."

Vayon Poole quickly came in. He was Eddard's steward, in charge of all matters of the Tower of the Hand.

"Go to Blackwater Bay and hire a large ship, a sturdy ship with sailors. Don't hire a ship with only sails. I want to send the two young ladies back to Winterfell. Everything must be kept secret, and you must reach an agreement with the captain as soon as possible. King's Landing is no longer safe."

"Yes, Lord Hand."

"Don't be afraid to spend money," Eddard added to Vayon as he left.

"Yes, my lord."

"By the way, call both young ladies in for me."

"As you command, my lord!"

Sansa quickly came in, but Arya was late in arriving.

"Father, Arya is walking on her hands on the rails of the stables. She's been there for the last few days. I'll go call her."

"No need, I'll have Thomard go."

Eddard instructed Thomard to find Arya at the stables.

"Father, why does Arya do that?" Sansa was very puzzled.

A girl, either catching cats, or walking upside down on the rails of the stables every day, or learning to dance until her arms and legs were covered in bruises, and she showed off to Sansa every night, as if every bruise was a medal.

"Her personality is different from yours, Sansa. Arya is active and likes to learn martial arts."

"Oh, I know. Her dance teacher is short and ugly, and the guards laugh at his swordsmanship as child's play. I've never seen a dance teacher teach Arya to chop and slash."

"Knights across the Narrow Sea usually prefer to use narrow swords. Narrow swords are easily broken when chopping and slashing, so they are good at thrusting. Because Arya is a girl, her strength will be weaker than a man's, so I found a swordsman who uses a narrow sword to teach her. Narrow swords are light and suitable for girls with less arm strength to practice."

"But Arya always says dancing."

"Let the swordsmanship teacher call it that if he likes, Sansa. What I want to tell you is that I have to send you and Arya back to Winterfell together."

"What?" Sansa said, "Father, has Robert ordered us to leave King's Landing again?"

"It's not like that, child. King's Landing is no longer safe. Our manpower has been reduced by twenty, and the remaining guards can no longer protect your safety."

"But I can't leave, Father. I'm Prince Joffrey's betrothed, and I love him with all my heart. I want to bear children for him and be a virtuous and perfect queen like Queen Cersei. I won't leave King's Landing, Father."

"Listen to me, Prince Joffrey is not your true prince. I promise you, child, I will find you a noble, handsome, and strong knight who matches your status to be your husband."

"No, Father, I only love Joffrey. Really, please fulfill our love."

"No, child, go back to Winterfell first, and I will explain everything to you in the future."

"I don't need an explanation. I love Joffrey, I want to marry him, I want to be the queen. Father, please, don't break us up," Sansa begged bitterly.

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Thomard knocked on the study door with a sweaty Arya.

"Come in." Eddard was already distraught.

Fortunately, the process of persuading Arya was very simple. She was happy to return to Winterfell, but she only had one request, that she could take her dance teacher Syrio Forel back with her.

Eddard agreed to Arya's request, but he did not agree to Sansa's request. Sansa left her father's study crying.

*

The next day, Prince Joffrey returned from the Kingswood with a large number of attendants. A large number of Yohn Royce's men could not stand the continuous rain in the Kingswood, and Ser Barristan Selmy and others who had made a splash at the tournament also returned, but King Robert was still not satisfied and continued hunting in the Kingswood.

On the third day, Eddard secretly met Robar Royce, whom he had sent to report the massacre in the Riverlands villages by the Westerlands to King Robert, and only received a message from the king: Understood!

This filled Eddard's heart with frustration! King Robert had changed too much after sitting on the Iron Throne for more than ten years!

Eddard noticed that the Hound had also returned, which was the person he was most worried about after Elyn left with the guards. Among the Northern guards, no one could stop the Hound after Jory Cassel died. He had to be wary of this person. The Hound was loyal to the Lannisters, and ordinary guards could not get close to him at all, plus there were so many red cloaks.

Eddard decided to take action in advance. The recent continuous rain had interfered with the hunting activities in the Kingswood. He believed that the king would not be able to stand it for long and would return. The pleasure of hunting would eventually be taken away by the torrential rain.

Eddard had to prepare for the king's actions in advance. He had to have allies.

After the Hound returned with a large number of red cloaks, Eddard's unease grew stronger day by day.

*

"My lord, you're looking for me?" Littlefinger's narrow smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

Eddard hated Littlefinger's smile the most.

But he had no choice.

Compared to Varys's ambiguous and unpredictable stance, at least Littlefinger was once a foster son of Lord Hoster and had deeply loved Catelyn, and he was the one who had Eddard and Catelyn meet secretly.

Eddard ignored Littlefinger's smile.

"Recently, there has been continuous rain, and King Robert will return soon. If there are any changes in the court, I want to determine the loyalty of the commander of the city watch."

"Commander Janos Slynt?" Littlefinger's narrow smile was even more obvious. "Give him money, and he will listen to you."

Eddard frowned.

Littlefinger looked at Eddard with contempt: "Lord Hand, Jon Arryn once wanted to bring Janos Slynt to justice, but in just one night, the two officers who were willing to accuse him had their throats cut. Although he is greedy, he controls the power of King's Landing, and many officers support him, especially those who bought their positions with money."

Eddard endured the disgust. He needed allies now and couldn't offend anyone.

The Hound's return put a lot of pressure on him.

"Loyalty maintained with money can change at any time," Eddard said.

"Yes, but if you add royal power, then it will basically not change," Littlefinger guaranteed. "My lord, you sent troops to the Westerlands to arrest people, you should have thought that it would affect the stability of the court. And you should have sent Loras Tyrell, but you used Beric Dondarrion."

"I only want to catch the culprit, not to start a war with the Westerlands."

"Hehe!" Littlefinger smiled, "My lord, Archmaester Pycelle has received a reply from Lord Tywin. The Duke is very dissatisfied with your action of sending troops to the Westerlands to arrest people. I bet that Lord Beric will not be able to complete the task."

"He flies the banners of King Robert and the Hand of the King."

“I saw them, my lord, the crowned stag banner, the direwolf banner, and his lightning bolt. But banners won’t capture Amory, it still comes down to men.”

Eddard suppressed his impatience. “Lord Petyr, I want you to host Commander Janos Slynt, sound him out, befriend him, and let him know that the King and the Hand both want to be assured of his loyalty.”

“Very well, Lord Hand, if you insist.”

Eddard almost revealed Cersei’s incestuous secret to Littlefinger, but he forcibly stopped himself.

Littlefinger left without bowing. Eddard felt a sense of emptiness; he wasn't sure how much he could trust Littlefinger. How much could he trust Janos? He could only hope that Janos would remember his oath: to serve the King!

As Eddard expected, the heavy rain dampened Robert’s enthusiasm for hunting. On the fourth day after Prince Joffrey returned, the King and his entourage also returned to King’s Landing. The King’s first summons was for the chamberlain to bring Hand Eddard to his Tower of the Hand; he had matters to discuss with the Hand.

Eddard was overjoyed, believing that Robert had finally realized the seriousness of the Westerlands' attack on the Riverlands and was summoning him to discuss how to punish the Westerlands. If Lord Tywin resisted the arrest of Amory Lorch, Eddard hoped the King would order an expedition to quell the rebellion, and Eddard would personally lead the army.

Of course, Eddard had an even more important matter to report to the King: Cersei’s incest, and that Joffrey and the other two children were not his offspring.

Warning: No update tomorrow, no more than two breaks this month.