As night fell, the tavern became bustling with activity, as many officials, nobles, and knights from King's Landing came to pass the time; however, some also used the tavern as a place to conduct business, with private rooms specifically prepared for them.
The spot where Lynd and Raul were sitting was quite good during the day, as it offered a view of the tavern's courtyard, allowing them to enjoy the performances there while drinking and eating, but at night, when the performance stage moved to the center of the tavern, this spot became much less desirable.
However, for Lynd, this position was excellent, because directly above his head were the private rooms that important figures would book for their discussions.
When the tavern was built, its owner had considered the issue of eavesdropping, so some soundproofing features were added to the materials and construction methods of the private rooms; coupled with the inherent noise of the tavern, as long as the people inside the rooms did not shout, the existing anti-eavesdropping measures were sufficient to prevent anyone from hearing what was being said, even if they pressed their ear to the door.
However, these protective measures had little effect on Lynd now; with his extraordinary hearing, he could still clearly hear the conversations of the people inside these private rooms, unless they deliberately lowered their voices, in which case he would be unable to hear.
Moreover, the tavern owner seemed to have left a hidden trick in these private rooms; he had embedded some copper pipes in the walls, presumably for his own convenience in eavesdropping, and these copper pipes themselves had a sound amplification effect, meaning Lynd didn't even need to concentrate to listen to the conversations in the private rooms; he could hear what he wanted from the corresponding copper pipes in the walls.
So he spent the entire afternoon leaning against the wall closest to the copper pipes, eavesdropping, while Raul sat closer to the aisle, providing cover and alerting him when someone approached.
It must be said that the intelligence gathered that afternoon was not extensive; most conversations were about daily matters, along with some minor secrets of bribery and corruption among the powerful.
Although he wasn't sure what specific use this information would have, Lynd still recorded it; however, due to the lack of pen and paper, he couldn't remember everything, so he could only choose to remember relatively important information, such as which influential figures in the Red Keep could be bribed and could help House Tyrell establish connections.
Compared to the information obtained in the afternoon, once the powerful figures from the Red Keep began to seek pleasure on Silk Street at night, the information Lynd acquired became much more abundant and significant.
Among them, there were two most important pieces of information: one was that Lord Eddard Stark and King Robert had fallen out, and there were even rumors that the two had become sworn enemies; the reason for their estrangement was a major disagreement over how to deal with the Targaryen remnants, but some also speculated that Eddard Stark was displeased with King Robert's decision to marry CerseiLannister.
In any case, for this grand ceremony related to King Robert's chief heir, Eddard Stark did not personally lead the delegation to King's Landing; instead, he sent his brother, Benjen Stark, who had already taken the black, to lead the team, a move that others saw as a direct insult to King Robert.
News had already spread within the Red Keep that King Robert, upon learning of this, had smashed many things in anger, and even his servants became his punching bags, beaten black and blue.
Because of this, many people felt that King Robert might launch a northern campaign this time to teach the Lord of Winterfell a lesson.
Therefore, in the private rooms above Lynd, many merchants and influential figures were secretly discussing the hoarding of various strategic materials and weapons, seemingly preparing to make a fortune when King Robert announced the invasion of the North.
However, Lynd knew very well that although Robert Baratheon was very angry, he did not blame or hate Eddard Stark because of it; let alone launching a northern campaign, he wouldn't even reprimand Eddard Stark's decision.
His friendship with Lord Eddard far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine; even after more than a decade without meeting or corresponding, their friendship would not diminish in the slightest.
So all the officials, powerful figures, and great merchants in the Red Keep had made a wrong judgment, and this might become an opportunity that House Tyrell could utilize, but how to profit from this opportunity was a matter for the important figures.
Compared to this information, another piece of information might be even more important to House Tyrell: the discord between Robert Baratheon and his brother, Stannis Baratheon.
Now, the discord between these two brothers was not only circulating within the Red Keep; many people outside also knew some of the situation.
The reason for this was Stannis's dissatisfaction with King Robert giving Storm's End, which had been passed down through the Baratheon family for generations, to Renly, while he only received the barren Dragonstone.
In Stannis's view, he had achieved great military feats in the The War of the Usurper, holding Storm's End and tying down the House Tyrell's army, which allowed Robert to have no worries and kill Prince Rhaegar at the Ruby Ford, ultimately defeating the Targaryen family completely.
So, by all accounts, he should have inherited Storm's End and become Lord of Storm's End.
But now, he had become the Lord of Dragonstone; one must know that Dragonstone was the traditional seat of the Targaryen heir, but now it was the House Baratheon; what did it mean to grant Dragonstone to him, a Baratheon?
No matter how he thought about it, he felt this was the greatest insult to him, so a few days ago, during a Small Council meeting, he directly complained to King Robert, and King Robert not only did not comfort him but instead reprimanded him for failing to capture Viserys and Daenerys, the two Targaryen remnants.
This quarrel quickly spread throughout King's Landing; everyone believed that Stannis and King Robert had fallen out, but some people bribed Stannis's servants and learned that after Stannis returned to his residence in King's Landing, he did not curse King Robert, but rather cursed Renly.
This was understandable, after all, directly cursing King Robert and expressing dissatisfaction with King Robert by cursing Renly were completely different in nature; even if King Robert pursued it, there would not be too great a punishment.
And upon hearing this news, Lynd quickly understood that this should be an opportunity for House Tyrell.
He knew very well that Stannis's loyalty to Robert Baratheon would not waver because of a quarrel or the title of Lord of Dragonstone; their public split, in his opinion, seemed more like an act, performed for those with ill intentions lurking beneath King's Landing; if someone at this time wanted to exploit the discord between these brothers to cause trouble, they would very likely fall into a deadly trap.
Compared to the relationship between Stannis and Robert, his relationship with Renly was the opportunity Lynd valued, because his dissatisfaction with Renly should be genuine.
Because from the War of the Five Kings that happened more than a decade later, it was clear that Stannis had always been extremely dissatisfied, even to the point of hatred, with Renly inheriting Storm's End.
And now, Renly was still extremely weak and in need of allies to contend with his powerful second brother and the nobles of the Storm's End territory, and to secure his position as Lord of Storm's End; therefore, the appearance of House Tyrell was undoubtedly a godsend, and House Tyrell could also use Renly, this Baratheon Lord, as a stepping stone to gain a certain voice in King's Landing.
Therefore, for House Tyrell, befriending Renly was the best choice now; as for what would happen in the future during the War of the Five Kings, there was no need to consider it at present, at least in Lynd's view, with his variable added, no one could predict what changes the future would hold.
With these two pieces of intelligence as a baseline, plus the other scattered information he had obtained, Lynd felt that this mission was almost complete, so he relaxed and had time to savor the food and play with Honor, who had eaten and drunk his fill.
In addition, he also allowed Raul, who had been constantly on edge, to relax, and ordered him a bottle of Arbor wine.
Although this bottle of wine was the lowest grade of wine sold from Arbor, it still cost two gold dragons, which was definitely the most expensive wine Raul had ever drunk, so much so that he changed his afternoon habit of gulping down mead and sipped it little by little like a kitten, afraid of drinking too fast.
Watching Raul drink, Lynd couldn't help but smile, then said, "You don't need to drink so carefully; just take another bottle with you when we leave."
Raul quickly shook his head and said, "No need, this kind of wine isn't for someone like me."
Seeing Raul's reluctance, Lynd didn't insist; he sat for a while longer, and feeling that there was nothing new to hear if he stayed, he stuffed Honor, who was tearing at his clothes, back into the cloth pouch, ready to end the mission and leave.
But for some reason, his body suddenly paused again, an inexplicable expression of surprise appeared on his face, and then he sat back down, leaning once more against the wall near the copper pipes, patted Honor on his chest to keep him still, signaled Raul to be alert, and then fully concentrated on eavesdropping.
The reason he suddenly changed his mind about leaving and sat back down was because just now he heard some voices coming from the aisle above, and one of the speakers was none other than Littlefinger Petyr Baelish.
Lynd naturally paid attention to Littlefinger Petyr Baelish, a shadowy figure who influenced the direction of the Seven Kingdoms, and many highly-replied posts in relevant forums were also related to him; undeniably, from an outsider's perspective, Littlefinger was definitely a very charming person.
It was precisely because of this that through those discussions about Littlefinger, Lynd understood Littlefinger extremely well, one could even say better than Littlefinger understood himself.
Before coming to King's Landing, Lynd had thought he might meet Varys, another shadowy figure, but he hadn't expected to meet Littlefinger, because according to his understanding, Littlefinger was still serving as a customs officer in Gulltown at this time, and would only be transferred to King's Landing by Jon Arryn after he had increased tax revenue tenfold and achieved remarkable results.
Therefore, when Lynd heard someone mention "Lord Petyr" just now, he was very surprised, even thinking for a moment that it was just someone with the same name, until that person further informed him that this Lord Petyr had already shipped some goods to Gulltown, which could help increase tax revenue; only then did he confirm that the Lord Petyr above him was Littlefinger.
Through eavesdropping via the copper pipes, Lynd discovered that Todd's Pumpkin, this establishment, was owned by Littlefinger, and that Littlefinger was also the owner behind several other taverns and brothels on Silk Street; clearly, he had already begun to lay out his schemes in King's Landing at this time.
When Lynd learned he was in the world of Ice and Fire and considered his future direction, he had previously compiled a list, categorizing people who could be used, those who could not, those who could be befriended, those who could not, and so on; among them was also a list of the most dangerous individuals, and Littlefinger Petyr Baelish was on that list.
Lynd felt that even with his prophetic advantage, he had no confidence in gaining a complete upper hand against a schemer of Littlefinger's caliber, so at that time, he thought that if one day he truly became an enemy of Littlefinger, then without overthinking anything, directly killing Littlefinger without regard for the consequences would be the most correct approach.
Now, the first important figure Lynd wanted to actively kill appeared before him in this manner, making him sigh at the interesting twists of fate.
Through eavesdropping, Lynd learned that Littlefinger had secretly come to King's Landing this time to meet someone, and the person he was to meet was interestingly Janos Slynt, the current Commander of the City Watch.
Although Janos Slynt was the commander of King's Landing's largest standing military force, his social status was not very high; in the eyes of the influential officials in the Red Keep, this butcher's son was merely their watchdog, but Littlefinger seemed to see it differently; he could see the enormous hidden interests within the power Janos Slynt wielded.
Inside the room, Littlefinger gave a few instructions to the tavern manager, then dismissed him; after leaving, the tavern manager ordered that the private rooms on both sides of Littlefinger's room be emptied and that several people guard the aisle to prevent eavesdropping.
Not long after, Janos Slynt arrived as agreed.
Lynd had originally thought that these two together might be concocting some grand conspiracy, but after listening for a while, he discovered that Littlefinger had secretly come to King's Landing to find Janos Slynt for smuggling.
It turned out that Littlefinger had a batch of goods from the Free Trade City States that needed to be unloaded in King's Landing; if based on the value of the goods themselves, he would have to pay a large amount in taxes, but he did not want to pay this tax, so he found Janos Slynt, hoping that the Commander of the City Watch could help.
Although the taxes at the docks were not under Janos Slynt's jurisdiction, the security at the docks was his responsibility; with his capabilities, helping Littlefinger smuggle was not difficult, and from their conversation, it was clear that they had collaborated more than once this year.
"I'm very curious what kind of goods would make you, Lord Petyr, personally make this trip?" Janos Slynt's voice came through the copper pipe; his grating, duck-like voice was very distinctive and instantly memorable.
"Some trinkets from across the Narrow Sea," Littlefinger said vaguely, then emphasized, "These things are for the important figures in the Red Keep, and I think, Lord Janos, you..."
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in these things. As long as it doesn't cause me trouble, and Lord Petyr can provide enough compensation, that's fine." Janos Slynt said greedily, "This time I want double the compensation, and it must be paid upfront."
After the Commander of the City Watch finished speaking, it was a while before Littlefinger said, "Alright, but the goods will be stored in the warehouse at the docks before delivery; you must be responsible for their security."
"Agreed." Janos Slynt replied without hesitation.