Prince Oberyn was silent for a moment. He stared in the direction where his mistress lay and whispered, "Kindness was Ilia's weakness, and it killed her."
Seeing that Oberyn's tone had lost much of its coldness, Tyrion, while internally reminding himself not to let his mouth move faster than his brain, said, "Your Highness, please continue your story?"
Although Tyrion was quite drunk, he dared not gamble on his father's affection for his Dwarf son. He knew that if he negatively impacted Lord Tywin's plans for the Martell, he would certainly face merciless punishment.
On the other hand, he knew the delicate relationship between the Lannister, Tyrell, and Crabb families. If they could gain the support of the Martell, the Lannister's dominance in King's Landing would be greatly strengthened.
Thinking of this, Tyrion forced out an even wider smile. He considered it for the Lannister, and also for himself, so he could continue to carouse outside…
He was certain his expression at that moment looked exactly like Moon Boy (the Red Keep's jester).
Prince Oberyn glanced at Tyrion. He seemed to have gotten over the previous minor unpleasantness and continued, "After admiring your little prick, I told Cersei that her brother was a pitiful little monster, but your sister was very unhappy. She said you killed her mother the moment you were born, and then…"
His dark eyes moved as he looked at Tyrion, a smirk playing on his lips: "She reached out and twisted your little prick hard. Her lovely little hand looked like it wanted to tear it off. You immediately shrieked in pain, but she ignored it. Finally, Jaime stopped her, and Cersei withdrew her hand. She also said… everyone said you wouldn't live long, so your thing was destined not to grow big anyway, and it didn't matter if it was torn off."
After hearing Oberyn's story from the past, Tyrion felt a chill to the bone.
The wine made his anger even more sensitive. Why did Prince Oberyn mock him repeatedly? Did he think the Dwarf of the Lannister had no lion's roar?
My amiable father… my dear sister… to hell with the Lannister!
Although Tyrion's anger surged, his remaining reason told him that there were still Jaime, Myrcella, and Tommen; they were also Lannister, and they could not do without the Lannister's protection.
Tyrion took a large gulp of wine to quell the fire in his heart, then he pursed his lips and smiled, saying, "Your Highness Martell, this is a truly excellent story. When you have time, you must tell it to my father. I guarantee he will be as pleased as I am after hearing it."
Prince Oberyn observed all the changes in Tyrion's expression. He first smiled slightly apologetically, then said, "You make me very interesting, Lord Tyrion."
Tyrion deliberately squinted his eyes towards the direction of the door, paused, and said, "Why hasn't Greene arrived yet? He's the truly interesting one."
Prince Oberyn scoffed, "Greene Crabb? He is indeed very interesting."
Although Tyrion's mind was heavy with drunkenness, he detected a certain disdain in Oberyn's words.
He looked at Prince Oberyn and said with a smile, "He certainly won't disappoint you."
"I hope so."
Prince Oberyn took a small sip of the wine in his cup and changed the subject: "I heard you are taxing the prostitutes of King's Landing?"
Tyrion paused. He did not want to be mocked again for the tax that the people of King's Landing jokingly called "the Dwarf's copper."
So, he cleared his throat and said, "This is my father's order. He is doing it to raise the moral standards of the people of King's Landing."
He raised his cup in a toast: "To the eternal Hand of the King, Duke Tywin!"
To be honest, Tyrion felt… a little bit of apology at this moment for "betraying" Lord Tywin.
Prince Oberyn laughed: "I heard you were raising funds for Joffrey's wedding and had to draw the dissatisfaction of the people of King's Landing onto yourself."
Tyrion's eyes trembled slightly, and he said in surprise, "How could there be such a rumor? If it weren't for the mountain of golden dragons piled in the royal treasury, I wouldn't be willing to work so hard in this broken Master of Coin chair."
He grinned: "Joffrey's grandfather is Tywin Lannister, and he is also Joffrey's Hand of the King."
Prince Oberyn smiled meaningfully, and then… he changed the subject again.
"Lord Tyrion, I heard you prepared seventy-seven dishes for the King's wedding feast?"
"Not me," Tyrion said with a grin, "Your Highness, are you hungry?"
Prince Oberyn's smile vanished, and he replied, "I have been hungry for a long time, but not for food. Please tell me, when will I see the justice the Lannister promised?"
"Justice…"
Tyrion couldn't help but rub his heavy head. While thinking, he said, "I can tell that you and Ilia were very close."
Prince Oberyn nodded and said, "Ilia and I were together from childhood, inseparable, just like Jaime and Cersei."
Tyrion blinked. Jaime and Cersei… He actually wanted to tell Prince Oberyn that this comparison was not appropriate.
Reining in his nearly straying thoughts, Tyrion cleared his throat, put down his wine cup, and said solemnly, "Your Highness, my father is overwhelmed with the war in the Riverlands and the King's wedding, so he temporarily has no time to deal with that terrible murder from sixteen years ago. If there has been any neglect, I offer you his deepest apologies on his behalf. My father has already made arrangements, and as soon as the time is right, he will act immediately. At the same time, any contributions made by the Martell family to maintain the peace of the realm will help increase my father's energy and speed in investigating the truth of that year. Also, I guarantee that your trip to King's Landing this time will not be in vain. May the Lannister and the Martell…"
"Dwarf!"
Prince Oberyn said coldly, "I have no interest in your Lannister investigation. Although my brother is not bloodthirsty, he has not just been sleeping for the past sixteen years. If it were up to me, I would only seek revenge for Ilia and her children! I came to King's Landing to find the mastermind behind it all."
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