Greene patted his chest and said, "Yes, she is your daughter after all, Lord Hand."
Duke Tywin heard the subtle sound of Earl Greene slowly exhaling. His left index finger slightly bent. The young lord in front of him was not a fox that had infiltrated the lion pack (Chapter 56), but a beast that had grown up in the lion's den.
Perhaps, his overly clever daughter was just a tool for Greene Crabb in the game of power.
He couldn't help but wonder, what could Cersei still give Earl Greene now?
What would Earl Greene's true purpose be... What did he want to gain?
A sharp glint flashed in Duke Tywin's eyes as he stared at Greene; Greene watched Duke Tywin slowly curl his lips.
One was expressionless, the other wore a gentle, shallow smile. Duke Tywin and Earl Greene looked at each other "deeply."
The air in the Prime Ministers study seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
"Very good," Duke Tywin's deep voice broke the silence.
"Earl Greene, welcome to the Red Keep."
"The honor is all mine, Hand of the King Tywin."
"Then..."
...
"Earl Greene, I do not wish the reconstruction and recovery of the Valley to become some kind of excuse in the future."
"I must admit, you've immediately pointed out Klaeb Territory's biggest problem, Duke Tywin."
The air froze again for a few seconds.
Then, Greene said again, "But... the Seven Kingdoms yearn for peace, and I am one of them. In this regard, our thoughts are consistent, Hand of the King Tywin."
He spread his hands: "Compared to Klaeb's troops, the peace of the Seven Kingdoms relies more on Lord Mace's support. If we want to quell the rebellion in a short time, we need supplies from the Riverlands, which is the fact before us."
Duke Tywin's chest rose and fell slightly as he said, "Tyrell is about to become the Queen's family, and the Duke of Highgarden's thoughts are the same as mine, and yours."
Greene shrugged slightly, saying nothing.
After a pause, Duke Tywin leaned back in his chair and said, "Prince Oberyn Martell will arrive in King's Landing soon; they also want to contribute to the kingdom."
Greene smiled and said, "Welcome the Dornish back to the Red Keep."
Duke Tywin's light green eyes moved slightly, and he said, "You seem to like Dorne very much."
Greene couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Perhaps because of the distance, I rarely hear news about the Dornish; I occasionally suspect Dorne is a country outside the kingdom."
Perhaps because of Greene's "teasing," the atmosphere in the room became much more relaxed.
Or perhaps, this was some kind of tacit understanding between power players.
"Let's continue discussing the Riverlands."
...
Joffrey's training ground.
At this moment, Robert Arryn held a small short sword in both hands, crying and wailing, "I want Maester Colmon!"
Tall Joffrey looked down at short little Robert and said contemptuously, "You are a traitor, you are not worthy to petition the King."
King Joffrey gestured, and someone immediately chanted loudly, "His Majesty King Joffrey I, the Merciful, grants... the traitor, Lord of the Eyrie, Robert of House Arryn... the opportunity to duel the King with swords, by the gods!"
King Joffrey pursed his lips, and proudly announced, "Lord of the Eyrie, if you can wound me, I will... show mercy when I judge you!"
The Hound, standing by: "..."
The Kingsguard, Gold Cloaks, and Gold Cloaks standing around: "..."
On the other side, among the watching servants, someone shouted, "Long live the King!"
Then, many people followed suit, and the crowd quickly cheered in unison: "Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!"
King Joffrey nodded in satisfaction, raising his hand to press down, signaling everyone to be quiet.
He slowly drew "lions tooth" from its scabbard, and the friction of metal and leather made little Robert tremble all over.
Clang, clang, the short sword in little Robert's hand dropped onto the flagstones at his feet.
Seeing this, King Joffrey, who had just been joyful, immediately roared, "Duke, pick up your sword!"
Little Robert shrieked, "I don't want to! I want to go back! I don't want to!"
King Joffrey yelled angrily, "Shut up! Pick up your sword, quickly!"
Little Robert still shrieked, "I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to!"
King Joffrey sneered, and with a light thrust of "lions tooth" in his hand, a thin red line slowly trickled down little Robert's cheek.
"This is just a warning. If you can't shut up, I'll just kill you!"
Little Robert first touched his face with his small hand, then looked at his blood-red palm, and then... he shrieked loudly.
"Ah! Ah!! Ah!!!"
The sound was piercing, and King Joffrey's handsome face twisted: "Shut up!"
Little Robert ignored King Joffrey's threat: "Ah!!! Ah!!! Ah!!!"
"I'll kill you!"
As King Joffrey's lions tooth was about to strike down, Sandor Clegane intervened in time to stop him, and little Robert was stunned in place... the blade stopped almost touching his hair.
"Hound, get out of my way!"
King Joffrey moved, but Sandor's large hand was like an iron clamp. He kicked out in anger: "Get out."
Sandor calmly said, "You'll kill him, King."
King Joffrey kicked again: "I just want to kill him!"
Sandor glanced at little Robert, who no longer dared to shriek, and said, "King, it's not fun when he's dead."
That's true, King Joffrey suddenly chuckled and said, "My Hound, go pull out the Lord of the Eyrie's tongue."
Sandor shrugged: "As you wish, King."
After speaking, Sandor turned around and nodded towards a spot where Maester Colmon was standing, held by two Gold Cloaks.
The Gold Cloaks released Maester Colmon, who hurried over.
At this moment, Sandor spoke to little Robert: "Kid, if you don't want to die, shut your mouth."
As soon as Maester Colmon arrived, he hugged little Robert: "Duke, are you alright?"
Little Robert had only a scratch. He hiccupped: "I want to go back!"
Maester Colmon whispered in little Robert's ear: "Duke, just treat this as a game..."
Little Robert shook his head: "I don't want to! I want to go back!"
Maester Colmon's voice was tearful: "Duke, please, just play with King..."
Little Robert shook his head again: "I don't want to!"
Maester Colmon continued to plead in a low voice: "We'll go back as soon as the knight's game is over, Duke, I'll get you something delicious when we go back..."
As he spoke, he picked up the miniature short sword and made little Robert hold it.
Little Robert tried to shake it off, but Maester Colmon held his small hand tightly, pleading, "Duke, you are the falcon, and this is your claw, please hold it tight."
"The King doesn't have much patience," Sandor's cold voice rang out.
"Duke... hold it tight..." Maester Colmon was quickly escorted away by the Gold Cloaks.
Sandor stepped back, and the King's and Duke's swordplay contest resumed.
King Joffrey's blue eyes sparkled with pleasure. He raised "lions tooth," its tip pointing at little Robert's cheek below his eye.
"You cry and scream over such a small wound, you're not even as good as Tommen."
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