Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire.

Chapter 274 The Many-Faced King
272. The Many-Faced King

Queen Margaery brought from Highgarden not only decorative flowers of various styles, accompanying noble ladies and knights, but also a vitality that injected a different kind of vitality into the Red Castle filled with conspiracies and calculations.

Life goes on forever, a very interesting family motto. James straightened his mask and walked in the corridor of the garden.

Joffrey lay in a cool corner, surrounded by Margaery and a group of maids, passing him all kinds of fruit pulp and wine.

A harpist from the riverlands sang a melodious song, and the jester followed the beat and performed acrobatics before the king.

Seeing this scene, James breathed a sigh of relief.

Joffrey was weird, very weird lately.

He no longer teased his ministers and servants, was no longer hysterical, and no longer easily lost his temper. When his grandfather was poisoned, Joffrey did not receive any expression or condolences from the king, and he did not even react. Even disdain and ridicule would have seemed reasonable to Jaime, but strangely, there was nothing.

If he was just after pleasure and beauty, he would be relieved. Jaime took a look at the maids around the king. They were basically noble ladies brought from the Riverlands by Queen Margaery. They all had their own beauty.

He knew why the young lady from the Tyrell family did this, but if it could make Joffrey look more normal, it wouldn't matter who did it.

Jaime walked up to Joffrey and nodded gently, "Your Majesty, Queen."

Joffrey took a sip of his wine, his eyes studying himself.

"Ser Jaime." Margaery whispered beside her, looking at her with a smile.

Joffrey poured the wine until there was no more. "You are blocking my view of the show, ser."

James frowned and turned his head to look behind him. The fool bowed to him gracefully, but it looked so clumsy and ridiculous in James' eyes.

He turned sideways and said to the king: "Your Majesty, Lord Tywin is dead, and we need to start over."

Joffrey held out his hand and looked him straight in the eye. "I need advice, Ser Jaime."

James was a little surprised, but nodded, "I will tell you everything I know, Your Majesty."

"Handman," said Joffrey, "what is the most important quality?"

Jaime's frown deepened. In the past, Joffrey would never discuss this issue with him.

James took a deep breath. He remembered that his father had discussed this issue with him when he was very young.

But at that time, there was a knights' tournament training outside Casterly Rock, and all that remained in his ears were the sounds of flying arrows and clashing swords and shields, and he did not remember a single word of his father's words.

"Maybe it's responsibility and ability." James gave an answer he was not sure about.

Joffrey propped himself up and said, "The Sea King of Braavos chooses his lieutenants based on wealth and credit. Wealth gives the Sea King practical support, and credit allows each other to trust each other."

“Don’t people in Westeros value that?” Joffrey said.

"Kevan Lannister," Jaime said the name, "The Lannister gold mines are wealth, and he is the queen mother and your mother's family, so he has enough credit."

Joffrey bent down and rubbed his swollen thigh. These behaviors made Jaime feel unfamiliar.

"I heard," Margaery, who had been silent on the side, suddenly spoke up, "that the Braavos were founded by a group of escaped slaves. I wonder how they managed to escape death while still hiding from the dragons of Valyria, and how they built a great city on the northern islands."

The queen's words were gentle and pleasant to the ear, and she even raised her voice in an exaggerated tone when she mentioned the dragon. The women around her all followed her lead in applauding her.

But the listener was attentive. Jaime felt his ears swell and he could hear the hidden meaning in Margaery's words. "Lord Tywin told me."

"Responsibility and ability are just excuses. The responsibility and ability of the Prime Minister depend on the king he serves," the father in the memory narrowed his eyes, as if thinking of the embarrassing past events and the past of working with the Mad King. "If it were Aegon the Conqueror, a strong duke would never be able to serve as Prime Minister unless he was a confidant; if it was a centenarian king, the criteria for choosing a Prime Minister would be different. I think as long as you have a keen sense of smell and are able to do things well, you can rely on your past friendship with the king."

Tywin choked out his voice and pounded on the table, over and over again.

"Act according to the situation, act according to the situation! Everyone will change. The king and his subjects who were close to each other one moment may be at war the next. What kind of king you are, what kind of prime minister you will have! No matter who the prime minister is!"

James repeated the story calmly, and the scenes in his memory slowly appeared in his mind.

"Clap! Clap! Clap"

Margaery clapped and took the lead in praising Jaime, and the women around her followed suit and praised him generously.

Joffrey's mouth was twisted, and his face was pale as if it had been soaked in water for a long time, with no trace of rosy color at all.

"Westeros needs a strong prime minister to bring order to the war-torn kingdom," said Joffrey.

Jaime took a deep breath. "I miss Kevan."

"Lord Artis Arryn," Joffrey said, without hesitation, as if the choice of Prime Minister had nothing to do with him as a king. There was a strange sense of understatement. "I think there is no one better suited to be Prime Minister in the Seven Kingdoms."

Just as Jaime was about to speak, Margaery laughed and said, "Arts Arryn, Eagle of the Vale, Warden of the East, and Lord Governor of the Trident. He has the most powerful army in the Seven Kingdoms. Only Arryn can help solve the troubles the royal family is facing."

With the king's determination and the queen's support, Jaime felt that the familiar Red Castle court was a little strange. Although the Lannister's golden and red lion flag was still flying, the eagle's cry in the distance could make the lion tremble.

"If so," Jaime glanced at Margaery, wondering if the Queen of Thorns had taught her what to say. When did the rose climb its twigs to the eagle? He whispered to the king, "The Red Keep may be ruled by Arryn in the future."

Joffrey looked up at Jaime and suddenly chuckled. "Ser Jaime, you really reminded me. Hahahaha, I thought the Red Keep was not a place where only one person had the final say!"

The Lannister golden lion flag fluttered in the wind, occupying almost every tower and battlement of the Red Castle. The red robes of Lannister were everywhere, and at every intersection of corridors and every iron door of hall and room there were Lannister spies and guards.

James swallowed, as if trying to make a final struggle, "Your Majesty."

"The Fool!" Joffrey pointed behind him. "Keep dancing!"

The harp music began again, and the Fool told his corny but amusing jokes again.

Jaime sighed, nodded slightly to the king, and turned to leave.

Margaery held the king's arm tightly, trembling slightly. She looked at Jaime's back as he left, and lay down on the recliner as if she had relieved some stress.

"The queen is tired," Joffrey said to those around him, "return to your room."

Margery sat on the edge of the bed in the bedroom, her hands tightly grasping the quilt, her pupils trembling slightly, like a elk encountering its natural enemy.

Joffrey's face was like an inflated fish skin, swollen and turning from purple to white, and it changed with every slight breeze outside the window.

Faces appeared and changed on the king's face.

"When your mission is accomplished, will you kill me?" Margaret's words were completely out of fear.

The Faceless Man changed into an ordinary person's appearance. His hooked nose made his face look three-dimensional and stern. "I won't kill people I know."

He turned over and jumped out of the window, hiding in the night.

(End of this chapter)