Chapter 27: The King'swood Hunt Route
Maegor's Holdfast, the Queen's Hall.
Queen Cersei sat at the head of the long table, with Jaime and the officials seated on either side.
At first, Glynn was somewhat interested, but as he listened, he inevitably grew bored and his mind began to wander.
"At recent feasts, Dornish Summer Red has been appearing more often than the wines from the Arbor."
"That's right, Summer Red is becoming more and more popular."
"Those arm-baring gowns from Highgarden, the noblewomen of King's Landing almost all have one now."
"Yes, jewelry from Highgarden is also popular with the noblewomen."
"Right, I heard Lord Janos bought an entire large box of Highgarden jewelry to please his new lover."
(Lord Janos, full name Janos Slynt, Lord Commander of the City Watch, the Gold Cloaks.)
"Which poor girl is it this time? Can she stand Janos's frog-like face?"
"He looks like a wine cask."
"Is Janos still extorting gold dragons from his men?"
"Naturally. You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
"It can't be helped. He is deeply trusted by His Majesty Robert and commands 6,000 Gold Cloaks."
"A shame for the young girls."
"He can only hook up with bastard girls. What trueborn daughter would look at a butcher's son?"
"Not necessarily, I heard..."
"You said it yourself, it's just hearsay, so it's a rumor."
As the officials' discussion veered into gossip, Jaime coughed lightly at the opportune moment.
Glynn, however, had somewhat revised his opinion of these colleagues. If one listened carefully, there was actually a fair bit of useful information, and they also served as the Queen's fashion trend consultants.
Jaime spoke up, "Let's continue our previous discussion. In past years, Her Majesty the Queen's hunt has always departed King's Landing through the Lion Gate. That cannot be changed this time either."
The room fell silent for a moment.
As the meeting of officials began, Queen Cersei spoke for the first time, "Why is everyone silent? Are those lowborns still spreading rumors?"
Lancel looked left and right, then said, "Following tradition will avoid a lot of trouble. The rumors are spreading fiercely. If we rashly change the route out of the city, it will play right into their hands and allow Her Majesty the Queen to be slandered."
A satisfied arc formed on Queen Cersei's lips. "Lancel, continue."
Lancel nodded, clenching his fists. "There are only eight days. My counsel is to severely punish the rumor-mongers. Only rolling heads will make people understand that the noble Queen cannot be slandered at will."
From Glynn's angle, he could see Lancel's thighs trembling slightly after he finished speaking.
Is he trying to please Cersei? Or is this truly Cersei's own intention?
Jaime held the opposing view: "The entire Queen's Quarter has nearly twenty thousand commoners, Lancel. How many heads do you think you need to kill to stop the rumors? And how would you quell the riots that would likely be caused by the killings?"
Jaime's gaze was intimidating. Lancel didn't dare to meet it and looked away.
Jaime's and Lancel's performances made Cersei unable to hide her disappointment and anger.
"Speaking of which, why is such a stinking, filthy place called the Queen's Quarter?"
"Yes, yes, it's one of the poorest areas in all of King's Landing."
Everyone present actually knew the origin of the Queen's Quarter, but they were just making small talk to ease the tense atmosphere.
Queen Cersei took over the conversation, "I asked the maesters. Heh. One of Aegon the Conqueror's queens once drank a bowl of clear water offered by a commoner there."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"These people are so shameless. The queen drank a bowl of water there, and now it's called the Queen's Quarter. Aegon must have been with her at the time, right? Why isn't it called the King's Quarter?"
"The specific truth is not important, but the name is easily exploited by those with ulterior motives."
"Yes, yes. There's a plague spreading in the Queen's Quarter, yet they point their spears at our Queen. They dare to say the Queen's lack of mercy brought the plague."
"The King'swood hunting party... The Queen's carriage will surely have to pass through the Queen's Quarter. I fear it will incite a riot, which would threaten Her Grace's safety and damage the Queen's prestige in King's Landing."
"There will definitely be trouble. This rumor appeared so suddenly, aimed specifically at Her Majesty's King'swood Hunt."
Cersei tilted her head slightly, looking toward Jaime. "Merciful Ser Jaime, do you have any good ideas?"
Hearing Cersei's words, Jaime's brow furrowed. "According to the intelligence I received today, the mood in the Queen's Quarter is extremely foul. If blood is shed... it's highly likely to incite a large-scale riot."
Cersei seemed to lose her patience, unwilling to listen to any more so-called excuses. She cut him off, "Tell me a specific method."
Jaime didn't mind Cersei's reaction and smiled. "Throw some gold dragons. That's the quickest way. One or two thousand should be enough."
One or two thousand gold dragons?!
Glynn, who had been quiet, twitched his ears.
Glynn saw that Cersei's expression was clearly tempted. So very Lannister.
Glynn felt it was his time to step forward, for the poor and suffering people of House Clegane.
Glynn cleared his throat, drawing their attention. He rose to his feet and addressed Queen Cersei, "Your Grace, forgive my presumption, but I have counsel to offer."
Cersei seemed to place great importance on the newly arrived Baron Glynn. She nodded gently with a warm expression and even gestured with her hand for him to sit and speak.
"Ser Jaime's suggestion is quite good, but I must remind Your Grace that you have overlooked their next appetite, and the one after that."
Jaime glanced sideways at Glynn but did not speak.
Doesn't everyone say Jaime has a great knightly spirit? Why do I feel like he's always targeting me?
Glynn continued, "As for Ser Lancel's counsel, I actually agree with it as well."
Lancel looked at Glynn, his sparkling eyes making Glynn shudder inwardly.
Hearing Glynn support Lancel's plan of beheadings, Jaime's gaze once again became intimidating.
Glynn shot a sideways glance at Jaime. "We also cannot neglect Her Majesty's return journey after the King'swood Hunt is over. At that time, will we not have to pass through the Queen's Quarter once more?"
The others nodded slightly.
"The rumors are the first problem, and I believe this is the easiest to solve."
No one came forward to mock him; instead, they all showed timely expressions of doubt.
"Since it is a rumor, it has inherent weaknesses. We can use a bigger rumor to weaken or even eliminate the rumor that is unfavorable to Her Majesty the Queen."
The officials considered Glynn's words and broke out in murmurs of surprise.
Lancel's eyes seemed fixed on Glynn, shining brightly. "Ser Glynn, for example?"
Glynn first smiled, then his brown eyes flicked towards Lancel. "The secrets between His Majesty Robert and Lord Jon Arryn that must not be spoken of?"
After fifteen years of suppression, Glynn, the self-proclaimed protector of Crackclaw Point, shared a blood feud with Lord Arryn.
After speaking, Glynn winked. Everyone's thoughts, surprisingly and unanimously, turned crooked.
For a moment, the righteous Jaime thought of many things, as if all of them were verifying the truth or falsehood of Glynn's words.
Jaime shook his head, casting aside the strange ideas that had sprouted from Glynn's skewed suggestion.
Let alone the others.
It had to be said that in the Queen's Hall, targeting His Majesty Robert and Lord Jon Arryn was politically correct, because Queen Cersei would be pleased.
"This is the first step to resolving the rumors. As for what specific rumor to use, we can discuss it. I was just giving an example."
"Oh~" The officials were full of enthusiasm.
(end of chapter)