Chapter 197: Oh, Arthur!

King's Landing, the Red Keep council chamber.

Having just arrived in King's Landing after a bumpy journey, the King was invited by courtiers to attend a Small Council meeting before he could even see his pregnant Queen, Sansa.

Aside from the vacant Hand of the King and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and the Grand Maester who had yet to arrive in the capital from the Citadel, the other six members of the Small Council, along with the specially invited Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the head of the Tyrell family Lady Olenna, and the two Queens, Margaery and Sansa, were all present in the Small Council Chamber.

"Your Grace, I am ashamed that I failed to organize the security and guard work of the Red Keep and King's Landing properly; Duke Mace's accident has much to do with me."

Commander of the King's Landing City Watch, Tristan Lygge, was the first to speak.

He knew something of the King's temperament; the tall and handsome Arthur I preferred to hear soft words, and as long as one admitted fault in time, one would generally not be held accountable.

Furthermore, he had made essentially no mistakes regarding the death of Mace.

"This is a tragedy."

The King first looked at the Queen of Thorns with a forced expression of grief, then asked:

"Assassinating the Hand of the King is an unforgivable crime. How far have your investigations gone? Have you found the true culprit?"

To tell the truth, the death of a mediocre man like Mace actually made Arthur's situation awkward.

In order to win over the powerful Reachmen, the next Prime Minister would inevitably have to come from the Tyrell family and their kin.

If someone with skill and ability were to take the position, he would have to expend effort to struggle against the new Prime Minister for a few rounds.

After the Master of Laws, Randyll Tarly, and the Master of Ships, Paxter Redwyne, who were responsible for the pursuit, exchanged a glance, the uninvolved Lord Randyll reported to the King.

After nodding and bowing to Arthur I, Lord Tarly said slowly: "We have searched the entire Red Keep and confirmed that the culprit witnessed by the guards was not a servant or a guard; he came from the secret passages underground. We are currently surveying the residents of King's Landing house by house, and it is not yet clear whether the culprit is still in the city."

He told everyone present about the current progress, then put forward his own conjecture:

"According to the Maester's opinion and my own personal speculation, there were actually two people who killed Grand Maester Gormon and Duke Mace."

"During the pursuit, we learned from the servants that there was a manservant who claimed to be a servant of both House Tyrell and Harrenhal, thus deceiving both sides who were not very familiar with him. It is very likely that he is the culprit who killed Grand Maester Gormon, but he has already vanished from the Red Keep, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"As for the culprit who killed Duke Mace, he should have broken in suddenly. Given his familiarity with the secret passages of the Red Keep, it is highly likely that he was a subordinate of some former courtier, or even very likely some former courtier himself."

Arthur I listened quietly to these facts and conjectures, then encouraged the two courtiers to continue digging deeper in this direction.

"You will surely find the culprit!"

The Queen of Thorns watched Randyll speak with an expressionless face the entire time; she was quite dissatisfied with the progress of the investigation.

Of course, now that her son Mace was dead, who the true culprit was no longer mattered; what mattered was using this matter to exchange for more benefits.

"Your Grace, may I say a few words?"

After Randyll and Arthur I had spoken at length, Lady Olenna interrupted in a timely manner.

Arthur I gestured with his hand: "Please, speak."

The Queen of Thorns was much more realistic; this meeting would inevitably require him to appoint a new Prime Minister, though she did not know whom the Tyrell family would nominate.

"Let the past be the past; we must look forward. Your kingdom is rapidly unifying, yet the most important position of Hand of the King has become vacant, which is detrimental to the governance of the kingdom. Since my son was the former Prime Minister, I boldly propose to the Iron Throne that Willas Tyrell be appointed as the new Hand of the King."

This proposal not only surprised Arthur I, but also left the other courtiers in disbelief.

Ever since Willas had his leg broken by Prince Oberyn, he had stayed in Highgarden and basically did not come out for activities.

According to this proposal by the Queen of Thorns, her eldest grandson would represent the Tyrell family and be stationed in King's Landing, she herself would return to manage the fief, and Garlan would be responsible for the defense and military of the Reach itself.

Before the King and the courtiers could react, Lady Olenna announced again: "In addition, Loras is already in the Kingsguard, and I propose that he be appointed Lord Commander of the Kingsguard."

"Queen Margaery is also pregnant, and the King should follow the custom of House Targaryen and select a Dragon Egg for the child about to be born."

She was fighting for benefits for her family one after another.

The first two requests were still within Arthur's expectations, but the third one shocked him greatly.

As a husband, he also knew that his second wife was pregnant on the road, but he did not expect that just upon arriving in King's Landing, the Queen of Thorns would also know, and bring it up at such a high-level meeting.

Sansa, sitting behind the King, clutched her belly while glancing at Margaery beside her.

The more she looked, the less she liked it, so she cried out: "Your Grace, my child in my belly doesn't have a Dragon Egg yet!"

The little rose was very quiet and said nothing, letting her grandmother fight for her.

The courtiers offered their congratulations one after another on the two Queens being pregnant in succession, but the King pressed his hands down to quiet the council chamber.

"Lady Olenna, Duke Willas has difficulty with his legs; I feel uneasy having him travel thousands of miles to King's Landing."

He politely declined the Queen of Thorns' proposal, then threw out a compromise plan:

"Let the mature and steady Lord Redwyne serve as Hand of the King, and let him recommend a Master of Ships to me."

"As for the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, the false king Joffrey's treatment of Ser Barristan Selmy was not in accordance with the law, so the nominal Lord Commander is still Ser Barristan, even if he is in Slaver's Bay."

Although Willas sounded gentle and kind, he was much smarter than Mace, Paxter, and the others. Arthur still wanted to reduce the power of the nobles, so naturally, it was impossible for him to let Willas, a top-tier noble, serve as Hand of the King.

"Barristan is the Queen's Kingsguard; he is my man!" Before Lady Olenna could speak, Daenerys could not help herself.

Fighting in bed was one thing, but some things still had to be calculated carefully.

She was, after all, aiming for the Iron Throne.

The Queen of Thorns echoed: "Exactly, Slaver's Bay is not the territory of the kingdom; how can Ser Barristan serve as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard?"

Paxter was her nephew and also her son-in-law; letting him be Hand of the King and then letting someone nominated by her own family be Master of Ships was not unacceptable.

In any case, as long as some smart people were sent to be by Paxter's side, the situation could always be controlled.

Arthur I pointed at Lady Olenna, "Please remember, Slaver's Bay has already been incorporated into the map of the kingdom; it is just that the distance is too far, and communication back and forth is inconvenient."

With a reckless woman like Daenerys, he had considerable confidence in taking Slaver's Bay.

"As for the Dragon Egg you mentioned, after this meeting is over, the two Queens can each choose one. We have four dragons, and hatching Dragon Eggs will be very convenient."

The King himself did not know how to use a Dragon to hatch a Dragon Egg, but he pretended to be very experienced, leaving the even more ignorant Queen of Thorns to guess.

Upon hearing that she could choose a Dragon Egg immediately, Lady Olenna did not dwell on the matter of the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

What was important was the Dragon; as long as Margaery's child had a Dragon, everything would be under control.

"As you wish, Your Grace! We Tyrells and all the families of the Reach obey your every royal command."

The matter of the new Hand of the King was thus settled, but the situation on the northern and southern battlefields made Arthur unable to be happy.

It was Randyll Tarly again; he reported to the King on some of the situations in the Stormlands and the North.

"I don't know how it happened, but Storm's End has been taken by the Golden Company, and Aegon VI has officially raised the banner of the three-headed red dragon. Since the news spread that Brightwater Keep was captured by Ser Garlan, the soldiers of House Florent have become very uneasy. On the eve of the fall of Storm's End, they kidnapped Ser Axell; of course, this could also be a play directed and acted by Axell himself."

"It is said that Illyrio's slave-trading in Volantis has been very successful. A certain Magister met with the cheese-monger and promised to provide him with troops to make the slave-catching operations go more smoothly."

"The Golden Company is wantonly capturing our farmers in the southern Stormlands, which has made many Stormlands nobles uneasy. They have sent letters to the Iron Throne, asking us to dispatch soldiers to drive out the Golden Company."

After Earl Tarly finished speaking, he took a sip of wine before continuing.

"As for the North, I don't know who tipped off House Bolton, letting them know about the gathering of troops in the Vale. Roose Bolton is personally leading a large army south. They are marching along the White Knife, looking as if they want to block the Vale's army at White Harbor to prevent them from entering the North."

"In addition, House Bolton has used both ravens and messengers to swear fealty to you and the Iron Throne."

According to what Arthur knows, after Daenerys Targaryen's three dragons appeared in King's Landing, the entire Vale began to actively respond to the order to recover the North previously issued by Arthur I. Some families have also begun to assemble soldiers, preparing to go to the Wall to garrison and assist in the defense.

Even House Arryn sent a letter saying they would send a King's Cupbearer to the Iron Throne.

If there are no surprises, this is the hostage the Vale is giving to Arthur.

"Who is the cupbearer they are sending? Have they arrived in King's Landing?" Arthur asked.

It should have been the Grand Maester who controlled the ravens, but Gormon is dead, and Pycelle was sent to the Night's Watch, so the assistant maester handed the letter brought by the raven to the Commander of the City Watch, Tristan Rivers.

He explained to the King: "Your Grace, the cupbearer from House Arryn is Myrcella Baratheon. She has already departed from Gulltown and will arrive in a few days."

Myrcella is known as Robert's daughter, but in fact, she is the illegitimate daughter of Jaime and Cersei.

According to the customs of the Seven Kingdoms, Myrcella, who grew up in King's Landing, should be named Myrcella Waters.

Tyrion Lannister, who had been silent, suddenly became dissatisfied, "Myrcella is my niece; how can she count as a cupbearer for House Arryn? She hasn't even entered into a formal betrothal with Duke Robin Arryn!"

Arthur also accepted this point: "Yes, this girl cannot be counted as a member of House Arryn. Tell them to send a more important member. Of course, since Myrcella Waters is arriving soon, let her be my cupbearer! Anyway, as a bastard, she has nowhere else to go."

Previously, in order to keep a hold on Tyrion, Jaime had not been sent to the Wall. Now that the Westerlands have been pacified, the current state of House Lannister is very much in line with the King's vision, so Jaime is no longer of much use; it is time to send him to serve as a member of the Night's Watch.

"I am the Duke of Casterly Rock; I can let Myrcella go live there," Tyrion shouted loudly.

The King already has two wives, a mistress, and is flirting with his nominal aunt; he certainly wouldn't feel at ease letting his beautiful niece stay by the King's side.

"Myrcella grew up in the Red Keep; going to Casterly Rock would be a torture for her instead. That is settled," Arthur I said with finality.

Then he turned to Prince Oberyn, "What about your Dornish army? If you want Nightsong, you must contribute to the eradication of the Golden Company and Aegon VI."

The Red Viper spread his hands and said helplessly: "Your Grace, I have only just arrived in King's Landing; I don't know when my brother will dispatch the army!"

He was in no hurry anyway. Thanks to the forbearance of Doran Martell, the strength of Dorne had been preserved very completely, and Arianne had also successfully hooked up with the new King. Aside from not having the position of Queen, House Martell had already gained enough benefits.

"Send a raven to urge them. Daenerys Targaryen and I are both in King's Landing. You in Dorne should not think about betting on both sides; you must send troops to participate in the war in the future."

Arthur I said sternly.

According to Doran Martell's steady style, he would inevitably want to bet on both dragon-wielding factions, but Daenerys Targaryen's act of riding a dragon all the way to King's Landing would definitely disrupt his plans.

In any case, Dorne has no reason to stand by anymore.

Currently, the situation in the Stormlands is still relatively stable. The Golden Company is struggling enough just to stabilize the situation in the southern Stormlands and has no spare troops to continue expanding northward.

And Earl Mathis Rowan is also integrating that Reach Army with the armies of the northern Stormlands families and will soon be able to attack southward.

If Dorne also marches north to attack, then before the reinforcements from Volantis arrive, it is possible to drive the Golden Company out of the Stormlands, or even directly have this mercenary company meet its end in Westeros.

"No problem, Your Grace!"

Prince Oberyn nodded and agreed.

The meeting lasted for a long time. After discussing the current major affairs of the kingdom, Arthur I assigned several more tasks to the Master of Coin, Tyrion.

"Lord Lannister, you must redesign the sewage and drainage system for King's Landing and find a way to build a water purification plant so that the commoners can have clean water to drink."

Because of the extremely poor water quality of the Blackwater River, most of the nobles and wealthy merchants in the capital use low-alcohol wine as their daily beverage.

The commoners do not have the financial means for this and can only use the river water.

"Fine, fine," Tyrion Lannister agreed, although he did not understand why the Master of Coin was doing the work of a Maester.

"Finally, all the nobles who brought consultant maesters to King's Landing, dispatch your maesters and let them treat the common people. Diseases are very prevalent during this period, and we must curb this trend."

Arthur I announced.

The courtiers carried out the King's orders.

After the meeting in the Small Council Chamber, the two Queens, the new Hand of the King Earl Paxter Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns, and others headed to Maegor's Holdfast to participate in the selection of the dragon eggs.

The remaining six dragon eggs had always been well hidden by Arthur. During the war, they were usually hidden in Harrenhal. After welcoming Sansa to the Red Keep last time, these six dragon eggs were also brought to Maegor's Holdfast and placed in a secret closet in the King's bedchamber.

The princes and nobles participating in the selection of the dragon eggs stayed in the Queen's Ballroom on the first floor, while the King and his attendants, including Podrick, went to retrieve the dragon eggs.

Soon, the round stones that the Queen of Thorns and Margaery had been longing for appeared before their eyes.

The massive dragon eggs were perhaps the most beautiful things everyone had ever seen; they had rich textures and colors, and the surfaces of the eggshells were arranged with tiny scales.

Queen Sansa was the first to pick up a red dragon egg. The candlelight shone through her fair, delicate fingers onto the egg, which shimmered as if it had been polished.

She smiled and said to her husband: "I think it looks like exquisite porcelain or enamel, or blown glass, but the dragon egg is much heavier than them; in terms of weight, it is like a solid stone."

Although she knew Arthur had extra dragon eggs, it was her first time seeing them, so like an ignorant little girl, she first picked up a favorite dragon egg and held it in her hands.

Queen Margaery, however, did not like the red dragon egg very much. Her beautiful eyes turned over the remaining five, and then she consulted with her grandmother.

The colors of the remaining dragon eggs were: green, blue, pale yellow, grey-purple, and black-brown.

"Green, I like green; it looks very full of vitality," the Little Rose said softly to her grandmother.

The Queen of Thorns, however, had her own ideas: "The black-brown one."

Although it is rumored that the size of a dragon can keep growing, according to known facts, black dragons simply grow faster than other dragons, and their upper limit is much higher.

For example, Balerion the Black Dread, for example, the King's Alduin, and for example, Daenerys Targaryen's black dragon Drogon.

So Margaery held the black-brown dragon egg with both hands and turned to the King: "My son has chosen this dragon egg."

Arthur nodded, acknowledging that this dragon egg temporarily belonged to the child in Margaery's womb.

The Hand of the King, Earl Redwyne, expressed his congratulations to his niece Margaery, and the Queen of Thorns and her granddaughter also smiled while playing with this dragon egg.

Only Sansa was unhappy, "My child also wants a dragon egg; I'll take this red one."

Hearing this, Lady Olenna turned her head vigilantly and warned: "Your Grace, do not forget our agreement."

Previously, they had reached a secret agreement: House Tyrell would provide the food expenses for Alduin and the subsequently hatched Dragon, in exchange for the child Margaery bore having first pick of the Dragons.

Changing it to picking a Dragon Egg first would also work, but if Sansa also picked a Dragon Egg, then the Queen of Thorns would not agree.

Arthur looked at Sansa helplessly; if he made her put down the red Dragon Egg she was holding now, he feared it would deeply hurt her heart.

But it was not easy for the Queen of Thorns either.

The gold mines of the Westerlands had not yet begun to operate, and the current King was still very poor and could not do without the financial support of the Tyrell family.

"How about this: the Dragon Egg Margaery picked will hatch first, and when Sansa gives birth to a son, I will then hatch this Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Honglong egg."

Arthur I promised thus.

Lady Olenna was quite satisfied with this proposal; the King's words had enough loopholes to exploit.

As long as Sansa did not give birth to a son, or even as long as Sansa did not give birth to a child at all, it did not matter that the Dragon Egg was in her hands.

It would just be a stone of immense value.

With the desired Dragon Egg in hand, Sansa did not care about her husband's promise.

After picking the Dragon Eggs, the Queen of Thorns and Lord Redwyne left Maegor's Holdfast at the same time, while Arthur escorted the two Queens to their respective chambers to rest during their pregnancies.

Once the King had settled his two wives, Podrick suddenly reported to him: "Prince Daenerys wishes to see you in the Throne Room."

Arthur was very curious why Daenerys Targaryen would choose this location, but he knew the Dragon Queen likely wanted to have a showdown with him.

To show his sincerity, he changed into that set of black Dragon-skin Armor before going to the Throne Room to see Daenerys Targaryen.

The heavy giant doors slowly opened; after Arthur entered, he ordered Podrick and the guards to close the doors and stand watch at the entrance.

Sure enough, a solemn-faced Daenerys Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne, lifting her beautiful and delicate chin as she announced to the great nephew walking slowly toward her:

"There can only be one person sitting on the Iron Throne, and that is the legitimate Targaryen, me."

The Dragon Queen, possessing inhuman beauty, wore a white long dress, her hands resting on the armrests of the Iron Throne.

Her fair skin formed a sharp contrast with the dark throne, making her seem to be surrounded by a faint radiance.

"I shall discuss this matter with you properly," the King said, then stepped onto the dais and began to persuade the gorgeous and charming Dragon Queen.

Ten-plus minutes later, Podrick, standing guard outside the Throne Room, suddenly heard rapid thumping sounds, as well as continuous cries of "Oh, Arthur!"

The way the two were negotiating was truly strange, Pod thought to himself.

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