The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Joffrey Baratheon inherited his outstanding appearance, but Jaime's feelings for Joffrey were shallow. After returning and seeing Joffrey's fascination with dissection, his feelings for his child grew even fainter.

Joffrey's dissection of living creatures didn't originate from his studies with Maester Qyburn. Even before Qyburn appeared in the royal palace, Joffrey was already dissecting cats, just to see how many kittens were inside their bellies.

“I still want to avoid it.” Jaime's skin was thinner than Cersei's!

He didn't want to personally tear off that thin veil.

Everyone understanding something in their hearts and saying it out loud are two different levels of security. Interacting with each other would also be less awkward.

“Regarding the matter of the Mountain, you need to know and get involved. In fact, you should be the Hand of the King, and also the heir to Casterly Rock. After Father dies, his title should be inherited by you.”

“I am a Kingsguard. From the day I donned the white cloak, I have completely belonged to you. If I agree to inherit Casterly Rock, you leave the royal palace and return to the Westerlands with me.”

Cersei looked at Jaime in disbelief: “Absolutely not, Jaime. Our children are here. Can't you just be the Hand? Get rid of that damned Tyrion.”

“I know my abilities, Cersei. I'm not Hand material, and I'm not the best candidate to inherit Casterly Rock. Both Tyrion and Uncle Kevan are stronger than me.”

“You are stronger than them, Jaime.”

Jaime shrugged helplessly: “Alright, wherever you are, I am. As long as you are in the royal palace, I will wear the white cloak and stay by your side.”

“Being the Hand also allows you to live in the royal palace.”

“I'm not the person to be the Hand, Cersei. You know that, and I know it too.”

“You're not even better than a dwarf?” Cersei sneered.

Jaime was silent!

In this regard, he admitted that he was not as good as Tyrion, but others did not think so.

*

Jaime wearing the white cloak was thanks to Cersei!

At the age of sixteen, Cersei, living in the palace, persuaded King Aerys Targaryen to grant Jaime Lannister the position of Kingsguard.

She concealed this matter from her father, Tywin. When Jaime donned the white cloak and entered the palace, Tywin's face turned ashen with anger because he had lost the heir to his family. Tywin soon resigned as Hand and left the royal palace with Cersei, returning to Casterly Rock.

When Jaime entered the royal palace, Cersei had to leave!

The two perfectly missed each other!

“Get up, Jaime. Show the courage and responsibility of a Kingsguard. Let's go out together,” Cersei said coldly.

Jaime's expression hardened!

A moment later, Cersei, Jaime, and Qyburn sat together, each holding a glass of wine, half-filled with sweet-smelling wine.

“The Mountain sent a letter by raven,” Qyburn said, his face grave.

“What did it say?” Cersei didn't accept the letter Qyburn offered.

This showed her full trust in Qyburn and the majesty of her Queen Mother status.

Jaime took the parchment. Before he could unfold it, Maester Qyburn said, “The Mountain's letter may not be credible, but the matter is too important, so I had to disturb Her Grace the Queen Mother in the middle of the night.”

Jaime unfolded the parchment…

Qyburn said, “The Mountain said that a sorcerer gave him a prophecy, saying that His Majesty the King would be assassinated on his wedding day.”

Cersei stood up abruptly: “Who?”

Jaime finished reading the words on the parchment, unperturbed: “The words of a sorcerer? I never believe sorcerers.”

Cersei glared at Jaime.

Jaime said, “When I was twelve, Tyrion and I secretly urinated into the priests' holy oil during the High Septon's ceremony held by Father, but we didn't receive any divine punishment from the Seven Gods. Either the Seven Gods are asleep, or it's just a claim by the priests to swindle money. The words of a sorcerer…”

Cersei interrupted Jaime's high-minded argument: “The Mountain has a grandmother, who is the grandmother of his wife, Jeyne Westerling, a Spicer by blood…”

“I know, Maggy the Frog, the blood sorceress of Lannisport. If she was so powerful, why couldn't she foresee her own life and death? If she could see it, she would have avoided it long ago!”

Cersei looked at Jaime and suddenly found Jaime repulsive, like a stupid stone.

“Ser Jaime, in this kind of matter, it's better to believe it than to be careless,” Maester Qyburn reminded him.

“Yes, of course, we can't be careless, so we must strictly protect Joffrey, but there's no need to panic and scare ourselves. On the wedding day, I will personally protect Joffrey,” Jaime said. “If there aren't enough people, then add the Knight of Flowers. It's his sister's wedding, and he's the captain of the Kingsguard, so he should contribute. That guy's lance skills are good, he defeated me twice.”

“Two people aren't enough,” Cersei said decisively. “Kingsguard Osmund Kettleblack is very brave, guardsman Osney Kettleblack is very loyal, and Kingsguard Balon Swann's swordsmanship is superb. Arrange all these people around Joffrey.”

Jaime said calmly: “As you command, Your Grace the Queen Mother. Maester Qyburn, the Mountain's letter didn't specify who the enemy is. If the sorcerer can see Joffrey being killed, then the sorcerer can also see who the killer is, right!”

“Ser Jaime, I'm just passing on information. I can't know what the Mountain didn't say in his letter,” Qyburn said humbly, with a smile on his face.

Jaime looked at Cersei: “The Mountain is at war with Father and openly establishing his own power in the Westerlands. How much credibility does his word have? For Joffrey's safety, we will strictly strengthen our defenses, but I feel that the Mountain's headless and tailless letter is more like an ominous curse.”

“Ser Jaime, although the Mountain is fierce and evil, his conflict with Duke Tywin originated from the duke wanting to send his head to the Dornish. Another reason is that the duke was too careless, thinking that slaughtering Clegane's village in the Westerlands could completely suppress all the information and would not be known by the Mountain, but he underestimated Maggy's ability. Maggy sent the letter out in advance, not just to the Mountain, but to all the great nobles of the Seven Kingdoms,” Qyburn said unhurriedly.

“Maester Qyburn, my father has passed away,” Cersei said with reproach in her voice.

“Your Grace the Queen Mother, I have no disrespect for Duke Tywin. I hope you understand that the Mountain was able to loyally serve Duke Tywin for a full twenty years, so his loyalty has been tested. We need power now, and the Mountain is undoubtedly still the best knife to use. As long as we can control the Mountain for our own use, what Dornish Red Viper, Reach Tyrells, Starks, and Arryns, I don't think they will dare to be too presumptuous. Whether to be enemies or allies with the Mountain, I hope we can be allies with him. We can be allies with the Tyrells, Littlefinger, and Martell families, giving them great benefits to accept them, so why can't we tolerate a Mountain who was originally our own vassal?”

In fact, this principle is very simple. The Mountain is a dog, while the Tyrell family, Littlefinger who was promoted to Duke of Harrenhal, and the Martell family are people.

People and dogs cannot be treated equally! This is Duke Tywin's mindset!

Once a dog breaks through to become a person, the owner will kill him! That's what Duke Tywin did! It's just that this dog was too evil and bit the owner who came to kill him in return.

Cersei and Jaime were silent!

They felt that maybe their father was really wrong!

The room was quiet for a while, and Qyburn said softly: “In the past, the Mountain was a Lannister dog, and now he is still a dog, but we have to make him think that what we put on him is not dog skin, but human skin, and the Mountain will willingly be used by us.”

Jaime stared at Qyburn, his eyes calm, but actually full of threat.

Qyburn knew he was walking a tightrope, but he weighed the pros and cons and said that these admonitions would not make him lose the Queen Mother's trust, and there were still three days until His Majesty King Joffrey's wedding. Whether His Majesty the King was in danger or not would naturally be verified at that time.

Qyburn said, “Your Grace the Queen Mother, if the Mountain has no loyalty, why would he risk coming to warn us? He is in the Westerlands, holding heavy troops. It's better to have less trouble than more.”

“Maester Qyburn, the Mountain recommended you to enter the royal palace, right?” Jaime said abruptly.

This sentence had an invisible murderous intent!

Jaime had only returned to the royal palace recently. How would he know who recommended Qyburn to enter the royal palace?

“Yes, Ser Jaime, the Mountain incorporated the Brave Companions, and I was a doctor in the Brave Companions. Because my medical skills were not bad, the Mountain recommended me to enter the royal palace to serve the courtiers of the royal family,” Qyburn then changed the subject, “Ser Jaime, you haven't been back for long. Did Lord Tyrion specifically tell you that I was recommended by the Mountain?” Qyburn smiled, “I am Her Grace the Queen Mother's person, and the Prime Minister has always been wary of me and once wanted to replace me with other maesters. I wouldn't find it strange if he said something unfavorable about me.”

Cersei suddenly realized and looked at Jaime with dissatisfaction.

The first person Jaime sought out after returning to the Red Keep was not her, but that dwarf Tyrion! Jaime was the person she deeply loved, but he insisted on getting involved with the dwarf she hated the most.

“Maester Qyburn, if we want to reuse the Mountain, how should we use him?” Cersei said in a firm tone.

Her firm tone was meant for Jaime and also to send a clear signal to Tyrion.

The three Lannisters once had a special conspiracy, a plan to kill the Mountain again—but Cersei, Tyrion, and Kevan—their alliance was already very fragile. None of them trusted each other and looked down on each other.

“Your Grace the Queen Mother, if the Mountain's warning is true, then we should trust him and give him important positions,” Jaime said after thinking for a while. “I have no good feelings for the Mountain, but I have no ill feelings either. Father's behavior towards the Mountain was indeed inappropriate. If I were in King's Landing, I might have advised him, although it wouldn't have been of much use.”

Cersei looked at Qyburn: “Maester, send a letter back to the Mountain. Since he believes His Majesty the King is in danger, I hope he can attend the King's wedding and protect His Majesty the King's safety.”

Her son's safety was above everything else!

“Your Grace the Queen Mother, the Mountain believes that if he comes to King's Landing, he won't be safe without his own army. The Red Viper is still here, and that's an irreconcilable enemy. And the secret that Duke Tywin wanted to use his head to exchange for Dorne's allegiance has also been secretly spread by those with ulterior motives.”

“Rumors never stop. There's no need to think too much about this. Your Grace the Queen Mother, I will be responsible for the safety of the wedding. If we want to use the Mountain, we need to consider it carefully,” Jaime reminded Cersei to be calm.

But in fact, when Duke Tywin was alive, Cersei always believed that it was more useful for the Mountain to be alive than to kill him.

Qyburn once advised Queen Mother Cersei: Whether it was the Battle of the Green Fork or the Battle of the Blackwater, the Mountain was fighting for the Lannisters and the royal family! When Stannis led his troops to attack King's Landing, the Mountain commanded the battle and personally charged to the front, saving the people of King's Landing and everyone in the royal family.

The Mountain is useful, there is no doubt about it!

Why kill the Mountain, who has been loyal for twenty years, for the sake of the allegiance of a Martell family that is two thousand miles away and whose taxes are completely independent?

Cersei's chief steward, Earl Kettleblack, also said: Duke Tywin valued Littlefinger and granted Littlefinger the title of Duke of Harrenhal, giving him the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms and the most fertile land in the Riverlands, and then supported him to marry Lysa Tully, so that Littlefinger could control the Vale again. So, why can't we tolerate the Mountain?

Cersei also remembered what Littlefinger had said to her: Even if the Mountain rises and becomes a figure in the Seven Kingdoms like the Starks, Lannisters, Tullys, Arryns, Tyrells, Martells, Greyjoys, and Baratheons, he can only choose to be loyal to King Joffrey from the moment he killed Stannis with that sword, with no turning back. Even if the Mountain doesn't rise, other families will rise during the national turmoil.

Cersei thought of Randyll Tarly of the Reach, who was constantly sending news of victories… Because of his brilliant military achievements, more and more civil and military officials had proposed that Randyll Tarly enter the Small Council… Duke Tyrell had already proposed it three times…

“Jaime, if the Mountain's warning is true, maybe we should reuse the Mountain and use another strategy to win over the Martell family,” Cersei said. Another strategy naturally included the option of war.

Qyburn's heart skipped a beat. He and Littlefinger kept hinting and implying to Queen Mother Cersei whenever they had the opportunity, and it was obviously working!

The true meaning of the Martell family's allegiance to the royal family was indeed non-existent. Apart from political unification, Dorne never paid taxes to the royal family, and its taxation and administration were always autonomous and independent.

Qyburn said, “Your Grace the Queen Mother, Ser Jaime, if someone is really secretly planning to attack the King at the wedding, then our protection should not be superficial, so as not to alert the people in the dark.”

*

ps: The color character in the title is wrong, the correct one is [Yan Ruyu·Tongue Like a Knife], can't be modified, sorry! This color character will undoubtedly increase subscriptions.

Thanks to [Chau534] for the reward, thank you, handshake!