The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 450: Don't Provoke Jeyne (Please Subscribe and Support!)

"Sansa, I need to go out for a while. Remember, don't tell anyone what you told me today, not even Shay or Gracie Tybersa."

"Yes, my lord." Sansa's tears were about to flow again.

This was a particularly tearful little girl, even more fragile than the real Sansa. Every day when the Imp returned home, he had to spend a certain amount of time getting her to stop crying and sobbing. He didn't know how he had survived this period.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the dining room door and then strode in, the Blackwater knight, Bronn.

"My lord, Ser Boros Blount of the Kingsguard requests an audience."

"What's it about?"

"Her Grace the Queen Mother summons you to Maegor's Holdfast for a meeting."

The Imp felt his heart suddenly leap. He had let Sansa go, and the monster king knew, and his foolish and conceited sister knew. He had just received the news from Lady Sansa, and then Cersei had sent a Kingsguard.

Suddenly, the Imp felt Littlefinger's advice was as beautiful as a hymn, hoping the nephew king, the Queen Mother, and Uncle Kevan could all listen to it: the King's wedding was soon, Duke Tywin had put on the black, and the Martell family would soon arrive in King's Landing. At this time, the Hand could not have an accident.

"Please let Ser Boros in," the Imp said, forcing a smile to relax his involuntarily tense heart.

Boros Blount entered: "Lord Hand, Her Grace the Queen Mother and His Grace the King have very important matters to discuss with you at Maegor's Holdfast."

"Does the knight know what it is about?" The Imp moved his small body onto the high stool, picked up his wine glass, and then grabbed a piece of burnt beef that he had forgotten to salt.

"About the Mountain!" Boros Blount said.

"Oh, what's wrong with the Mountain?" The Imp breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, relaxing, but the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a serious expression.

"The Mountain has returned to the Westerlands, captured Ser Daven Lannister, and ordered all the nobles in the Westerlands to take down the golden lion banners of Lannister and replace them with his sigil, the red viper and ice sword."

"Oh, the Mountain has quite the appetite. Does he think he can just take the Westerlands like that?" The Imp slammed his wine glass heavily on the table, nimbly got off the high stool, "Bronn, get Podrick, let's go!"

*

Maegor's Holdfast. The King's bedroom with two fireplaces.

The Imp pushed the door open and entered.

Joffrey, Cersei, and Kevan were all there, seemingly waiting for him.

He now felt surrounded by enemies: Littlefinger, Joffrey, Cersei, and Kevan, the Tyrell family, Oberyn Martell who was about to arrive in King's Landing, all of them were his enemies or potential opponents.

Because of the matter of sending Sansa away, he knew he had completely lost the support from the Lannisters.

But this was in line with the new nickname given to him by the people of King's Landing: Betrayer.

The Imp entered the room, Joffrey, Cersei, and Kevan all looked at him.

The Imp found a stool and sat down, his eyes swept over the three Lannisters.

"Tyrion, the Mountain has captured Daven in the Westerlands," Kevan said.

"If Daven himself wasn't willing to escape, no one could save him." Tyrion saw the wine, so he slid off the high stool and staggered to pour himself a glass.

Wine could help him mask his inner emotions. Holding the wine glass in his hand, he felt as if he had something to rely on, able to help him maintain his composure.

"Daven escaped to Oldtown, and then was captured and taken back by the Mountain's infantry commander, Tobert," Cersei also poured herself a glass.

"I think Daven isn't the focus of our discussion, is he?" The Imp said, "Let's get straight to the point, don't beat around the bush."

Daven was a Lannister branch, he slaughtered thousands of innocent people. The Imp thought he deserved to die. No matter how the Mountain tortured Daven, the Imp wouldn't think it was excessive.

Kevan said: "The nobles of the Westerlands, except for Crakehall, Casterly Rock, Golden Tooth, and Cornfield, have all replaced the golden lion banners with the red viper and ice sword sigil."

"Just changing a flag? Nothing else important?" The Imp raised his wine glass. He made large gestures, but drank little.

"The Mountain is recruiting handsome men throughout the Westerlands, aged from twelve to thirty. There are currently about three hundred people," Cersei took a sip of red wine and shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh?!" The Imp's eyes flashed.

He was very interested in this: What did the Mountain want to do? Three hundred handsome men?!

"What does the Mountain want to do?"

Kevan was as expressionless as Tywin: "It's still unknown. The nobles of the Westerlands have to report their people, mines, taxes, and fields to the Mountain."

"If he does this, he's really treating the Westerlands as his own territory. There's no doubt that he's blatantly replacing the Lannisters' position in the Westerlands. The Mountain is frantically breaking our bottom line!" The Imp frowned.

The Westerlands were the Lannisters' foundation and family property, without a doubt!

When the Mountain wanted to be the Warden of the West, he was firmly opposed to it, but the opposition was ineffective. At that time, Duke Tywin just wanted to reach an agreement and get away as soon as possible: "Sister, Uncle, if Father were here, what would he do?"

"Kill the Mountain!" Cersei said without hesitation.

"So, what should we do? The answer is obvious!" The Imp said, "This matter is not difficult at all. No matter how many people the Mountain has, kill him alone, and his army will scatter like birds and beasts."

"Go kill the Mountain, Lord Hand," Joffrey laughed, his smile full of ridicule and contempt, "Your double axes are so sharp, you have proven your martial prowess in the Battle of the Blackwater, unstoppable!"

"I can't go kill the Mountain, but there are people who are more eager to kill the Mountain than we are." The Imp shrugged his shoulders, "Your Grace, sometimes, why kill someone yourself? Smart people instruct others to do their own things."

"Just like the Mountain instructed you to recruit three thousand Westerlands troops?" Joffrey laughed.

"Yes, it's similar to the Mountain's method." The Imp shrugged his shoulders, his face unchanged.

Kevan had already understood what the Imp meant. In this regard, the Imp had his own unique mind.

"Let the Dornishmen kill the Mountain?" Kevan said in a low voice.

Cersei's eyes lit up.

"That's right, Oberyn is coming to King's Landing. We just need to tell him that the original agreement is still valid, as long as he has the ability to take the Mountain's head. If he kills the Mountain, the position of Master of War and Hand of Justice are both for the Dornishmen. And the previous agreement conditions remain unchanged," the Imp smiled, "Then, the Red Viper will naturally go and fight the Mountain to the death."

"Good idea, that way, once the Mountain dies, everything he did in the Westerlands will naturally collapse." Cersei gave Tyrion a sweet smile.

But Tyrion knew that the smile might be mocking the fact that he might also face being killed after the King's wedding.

"Uncle Imp, do you think the Dornishmen can kill the Mountain? Want to make a bet? I bet the Mountain will kill the Dornishmen, one hundred gold dragons."

Tyrion laughed: "Nephew King, sometimes I really don't know which side you're on. As long as we agree to let the Dornishmen kill the Mountain, there will be many ways, duel, poisoning, murder, ambush, hiring the Faceless Men. You may be thinking too simply, thinking that the Dornishmen will just carry a longsword and go chop the Mountain."

"But I still bet the Mountain will win, one hundred gold dragons, do you dare to take it?"

"No!" Tyrion refused flatly.

Tyrion looked at Cersei, looked at Kevan, Cersei and Kevan immediately understood Tyrion's hint: If someone bet with Joffrey, Joffrey might tell the Mountain about tonight's conspiracy through some means.

Kevan felt a chill in his heart: he decided that any future confidential matters could not be known to Joffrey.

Cersei also had no confidence in Joffrey, but she decided to change the subject first: "There's another matter we may need to be concerned about, Father hasn't sent us a raven to this day."

"Oh?" The Imp felt vaguely uneasy, "The Trident River is flooding during this season, Father's speed will definitely be affected, right?"

"Duke Tywin told me that he boarded a ship at Gulltown and would give me a raven. He would give me another raven when he landed at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on the Wall. After the three-month recruit training, he would give me another raven when he left the Wall and returned to the Westerlands. Now, according to the time, I should have received the raven he sent from Gulltown long ago, but I haven't."

"Wait a few more days and see!" The Imp was sensitive to the fact that he didn't care much about his father's life or death, he cared more about the Mountain's life or death. The Mountain was doing things to control the Westerlands, which broke Tyrion's bottom line. If, by any chance, Father couldn't retreat completely from the Wall, Casterly Rock would be his, he was the heir, Tyrion Lannister, Lord of the Westerlands.

"I also think Uncle is overthinking it," Cersei smiled, "Father always carries two ravens with him. If something happens, he will release the ravens to inform us."

Kevan's face was like iron: "Yes, that's what I'm wondering. If there's something wrong, the Duke has an elite hundred-man team with him, he couldn't possibly not even have time to release the ravens. But, according to the time, he should have reported his safety to us long ago."

Joffrey laughed: "Isn't this a small matter? Randyll Tarly and the Westerlands Allied Forces defeated the Northern Army in Duskendale, and are chasing the fleeing soldiers all the way north. Tell him to send scouts to inquire about the whereabouts of Grandfather up and down the Trident River, and we will know soon."

"That's a good idea!" The Imp praised. Joffrey liked to wear high hats, so give him one!.

Joffrey smiled proudly, not concealing his contempt for Tyrion at all.

*

The Imp came out of Maegor's Holdfast, and under the protection of Bronn and Podrick, came to the Clegane military camp at the Mud Gate.

Jeyne and Doreah Quintyna sat side by side, like close sisters.

Beside the two women stood two very tall women: Ser Gerold; Brienne Tarth.

Both women were tall and burly, Bronn and Podrick were much shorter compared to the two female guards.

"Lady Jeyne, apologies for disturbing you late at night." The Imp was polite, followed the etiquette, and bowed gracefully.

"Lord Hand." Jeyne and Doreah stood up to greet the guests.

"Lady, I have some private matters that I would like to discuss with the Lady alone."

"As you wish, Lord Hand."

All the guards and others retreated.

"I'm in trouble, Lady." The Imp looked sincere and honest.

Jeyne looked at the Imp and didn't respond.

The Imp thought highly of Jeyne. Since the other party didn't respond, he had to continue.

"The matter of Sansa Stark has been exposed. His Grace the King, Her Grace the Queen Mother, the Master of Whisperers, and the Master of Coin all know. It was I who saved Sansa Stark, it was I who put her on a small boat on the Blackwater River, I did all this because the Mountain coerced me to do so."

The last sentence was the key!

"Lord Hand, you only have one way out - leave King's Landing," Jeyne said.

"But I don't want to leave, I like being the Hand."

"My Lord, if a secret is known by three people, it will be known by thirty people, three hundred people, three thousand people."

"Lady, if something happens to me, the Mountain will also be destroyed."

"If something happens to you, the Mountain will not be destroyed."

"Hey!" The Imp smiled, "Lady, I will tell the Hand of Justice that it was the Mountain who forced me to release Sansa, and it was also the Mountain who told me the secrets of the tunnel. Lady, don't forget, there is also a person missing in the Red Keep: Eddard Stark. Recently, news has come out that Eddard Stark suddenly appeared at the Stark and Frey family wedding, only he brought his longsword to the wedding."

"My Lord, you have no evidence to prove that it was the Mountain who told you about the secret passage. You have no proof, just speculation. Eddard Stark couldn't have been released by the Mountain either. The tunnel is narrow, and everyone knows that the Mountain is burly."

The implication was that Tyrion's small body was suitable for doing sneaky things.

The Imp suddenly realized that Lady Jeyne was also a ruthless character hidden away, just like the Mountain.

Faced with the major event of Sansa's disappearance, she was able to push everything away without blushing or skipping a beat.

"Lady, I am now the Hand, the Mountain is the Master of War, the Dornishmen are about to enter King's Landing, they are the Mountain's enemies, and I also have my own enemies. I came tonight hoping to form an alliance with the Lady."

"We will not form an alliance with anyone," Jeyne said calmly.

"The Dornishmen are the Mountain's mortal enemies, Lady."

"The Mountain and the Clegane's Men act in accordance with national law. Anyone who crosses the law and wants to cause us trouble, we will beat them back or directly chop off their heads!"

The Imp was speechless, feeling his lips dry and astringent. He never expected that the Westerling family would produce such a powerful character. In a few words, she directly killed the conversation.

"Lady doesn't believe me?"

"It's precisely because I believe in the Lord Hand that I say this, just as I believe in the fairness of national law. If the Dornishmen dare to provoke the Clegane's Men when they enter King's Landing, we will beat them severely! If the Dornishmen dare to raise an army, we will go to war with them!"

*

A moment later, three horses left the Clegane military camp and returned to the Hand's Tower. Along the way, the Imp kept his mouth shut, reversing his usual eloquence, his face was very ugly, as if someone had spat a mouthful of saliva on his face.