Gathering his thoughts, Lord Mace calmed down and tentatively asked, "Lord Greene, my good boy, I want to know Queen Cersei's... attitude towards marriage. This is very important to me, and to my daughter. If possible, I hope you can be frank with me; I'll owe you a favor."
Lord Greene shook his head slightly, his tone sincere: "Lord Mace, in my heart, you are my mentor. It is my honor to serve you, and always has been."
Lord Mace couldn't help but stroke his beard with satisfaction.
Lord Greene continued, "I will be frank with you, for Queen Cersei, everyone who supports her marriage will be considered her... enemy."
He further explained, "She is uneasy about her children. At least until King Joffrey comes of age, I think she is absolutely unwilling to leave the Red Keep."
Lord Mace nodded; this information also needed to be conveyed to Lady Olenna as soon as possible.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "If the contents of the Small Council meeting are not made public... won't all attendees become supporters of this matter?"
Lord Mace was very familiar with this tactic, because when he governed the Riverlands, with Lady Olenna's support, he had done similar things.
Lord Greene said gravely, "Perhaps Hand of the King Tywin has already prepared ships or carriages, just waiting for the Small Council meeting to conclude, and Queen Cersei will be sent away directly by him. We might not even have a chance to meet."
He spread his hands: "According to the tradition left by Targaryen, of the seven seats on the Small Council, if four agree, the Hand of the King's proposal can pass. And the Lannister name already occupies four seats, so the outcome... is obvious."
As he finished speaking, Lord Mace nodded and said angrily, "Lannister has treated the Small Council as their private property. This is another reason I find them too greedy. If it weren't for my daughter's marriage, I truly wouldn't want to bother with the current Small Council."
After a pause, Lord Greene's steady voice sounded: "Hand of the King Tywin's wisdom clearly understands that this will cause dissatisfaction among other nobles, but he still insists on his ideas, which means... before he achieves some of his goals, at least Lannister will still occupy the Small Council."
Lord Mace first took a large gulp of wine before asking, "What else does Tywin want to do?"
Lord Greene slowly said, "Lannister has always wanted to win over the Dornish. I hear Prince Oberyn will arrive in King's Landing soon."
Lord Mace's hand holding the wine cup moved slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "I've heard that too. I remember Lannister even sent the Mountain's head to Sunspear to curry favor with House Martell (Chapter 177)."
Lord Greene shrugged, "As for other things... I can't see them for now."
After a pause, Lord Mace leaned back in his chair and said, "I invited you here today to recommend you as a councilor on the Small Council. Now that I think about it... it's quite a Lion's den."
Lord Greene smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, I will keep it in mind. Lord Mace, now is not the right time, at least..."
He paused, then said directly, "At least until Queen Cersei's matter is clear, I will not support Hand of the King Tywin."
Upon hearing this, Lord Mace was startled. He looked at Lord Greene, paused, then sighed deeply.
Lord Greene had expressed his true feelings to him. Lord Mace reached out and patted Lord Greene's arm. He was thinking that perhaps the reason he liked Lord Greene was not only because he understood his art of war, but also because of his loyal nature.
"Lord Greene, my good boy, how can I help you?"
"Lord Mace, I would like to ask for your help in postponing the Small Council meeting."
Lord Mace thought for a moment, stroking his beard. Postpone... He suddenly felt this idea seemed very good. Although he didn't show it on his face, with Lady Olenna not by his side, he felt uneasy. That Old Lion was truly too cunning!
His conversation with Lord Greene had already given him a headache. Lord Mace had to admit that compared to dealing with various palace intrigues, he was perhaps more suited to being in a place where he could display his art of war, such as... Storms End.
At this thought, Lord Mace asked, "Lord Greene, I can help you. How long do you need to postpone it?"
Lord Greene raised his cup in a gesture and said, "Lord Mace, thank you for your help. I only need a few days. Specifically... what I can tell you is that it won't exceed the day Lady Margaery enters King's Landing."
He showed a slight smile: "I can almost hear the voice of King's Landing, everyone is anticipating the new Queen of the Seven Kingdoms—Margaery Tyrell."
A hint of pride flashed across Lord Mace's plump face. He said with emotion, "Margaery, my daughter, she is beloved, she is my pride."
Lord Greene's brown eyes trembled imperceptibly. Seeing Lord Mace's reaction, Lord Greene thought of another possibility: could Lord Mace have overexerted himself in promoting the Little Rose's name in King's Landing?
At this moment, Lord Mace pinched his chin and murmured, "I need to find a good reason to postpone the Small Council meeting that Tywin invited..."
Lord Greene smiled and said, "How about feeling unwell?"
Lord Mace laughed heartily. After a pause, he suddenly said, "If Hand of the King Tywin goes ahead without us attending the Small Council meeting..."
With that, he waved his large hand: "Then it's Lannister's own family affair, it has nothing to do with us."
Lord Greene nodded his chin: "Yes, Lannister's game will become even more unpopular, and the Small Council will no longer be the Small Council."
....
....
Riverrun.
Robb Stark sat by the fireplace, gazing at the flames.
Footsteps sounded, and Brynden Tully walked over.
"King Robb, the Lord Steward told me your appetite is still not good."
"Uncle."
Robb's voice was hoarse as he called out. His face looked haggard, but there was a faint sharpness in his eyes, like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.
Duke Brynden's hair was streaked with gray, and the wrinkles on his face had grown deeper and more numerous.
He sat on the wooden chair beside Robb and sighed, "Child, the more sorrow you feel inside, the more you must learn to eat."
His tone shifted, and he teased, "Only then will you have the strength to cry your heart out when you want to weep."
Robb's lips barely curled into a faint smile. His fingers gently stroked the sand-gold hair tie in his hand as he said, "Uncle, I miss Jeyne. Every night... I wait for her in my dreams. I only hope... that at least in my dreams, I can see her once, tell her I'm sorry, that as her husband, I failed to protect her, that my arrogance harmed her..."
Duke Brynden closed his eyes in pain. After a long while, he opened his deep eyes.
"Although we haven't found concrete evidence, I think... our guess should be correct. Black Walder is the murderer who poisoned Queen Jeyne..."
He paused, then gazed at the person beside him: "My child, I want to ask you one more time, are you truly decided?"
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