Littlefinger had no idea what answer Tywin Lannister wanted.
Before being brought here by the Mountain, the Mountain wanted Littlefinger to deliberately shift the blame for framing the Lannisters for murdering Jon Snow to Cersei and Jaime, but Littlefinger firmly refused.
Littlefinger believes that if he knew about Cersei and Jaime's incestuous relationship, he would be more likely to be executed by Tywin.
Littlefinger tells the Mountain that the less you know about the Lannisters' dirty secrets, the safer you are.
In the end, the Mountain agreed to let Littlefinger make his own decision based on the actual situation.
So, the topic that Littlefinger wanted to avoid, the topic that the Mountain wanted Littlefinger to bring up, was brought up by Lord Tywin Lannister himself.
What does this mean? What answer does Tywin want to know?
Littlefinger couldn't glean anything from Tywin's words and actions: Tywin was expressionless and always remained unyielding.
Littlefinger can't know what answers Tywin wants to hear.
He decided to remain unchanged amidst all changes: to tell the truth.
When facing Tywin Lannister, telling the truth is easier than lying.
To be honest, there won't be any loopholes; it can withstand scrutiny and examination. But if you lie, and there's even the slightest flaw that Tywin Lannister notices, he won't give you any chance to defend yourself.
"Your Grace, I have heard the rumors about Cersei and Jaime."
"Oh, how long have you heard?!" Duke Tywin's words varied, but his tone and expression remained unchanged.
Two years!
Are these rumors widespread?
"Not widespread."
"Didn't the king's two brothers hear about these rumors?"
"I guess they've heard about it too."
"Oh!" Lord Tywin was surprised, but outwardly remained calm. He realized that perhaps he was overthinking things. Both of the king's brothers had heard the rumors about Cersei and Jaime, so why didn't the king himself know? Were those two brothers disloyal, or were they not his biological brothers?
Tywin Lannister knew the king's character well; he would be furious upon learning this, and would cut off Cersei and Jaime's heads, impaling them on spears. There was no doubt about it!
"Have Stannis and Renly heard the rumors?" Lord Tywin asked again to confirm.
"I suspect…they've heard something about it," Littlefinger said.
"Didn't they report the rumors to the king?"
"I don't know. All I know is that the King certainly hasn't heard the rumors. Your Grace, since they're just rumors, Stannis and Renly certainly won't take them to heart."
"Stannis will take it to heart, Renly won't," said Lord Tywin Lannister.
This statement hits the nail on the head.
Littlefinger thought so too, but he shouldn't try to show off his intelligence in front of Tywin Lannister. Many things don't need to be said; Tywin will figure them out himself.
Stannis left the palace after Jon Snow's death, because King Robert once again gave Renly, not him, the power to handle state affairs.
"Stannis is the Lord Seaman, in charge of the navy; Renly is the Lord Lawman, in charge of the law," the Duke said.
"yes!"
Stannis, King Robert's younger brother, was a man of iron will and difficult to get along with; he had no friends whatsoever. According to the law and tradition of family succession, Stannis should have been the heir to Storm's End after Robert Baratheon ascended the throne. However, Robert disliked Stannis and disregarded the law and tradition of family succession, passing Storm's End to his younger brother Renly.
Besides being handsome and kind, and being able to play, talk, sing, and dance, which makes him very likable, the second brother, Renly, has no other skills; he's just a pretty face with no substance.
Stannis, the younger brother, was different. He couldn't play, drink, talk, sing, dance, or charm people, but he was capable. Sixteen years ago, during the War of the Usurper initiated by Robert, Jon, and Eddard, he led a force nearly a hundred times smaller than the enemy and resisted Mace Tyrell's 100,000-strong army in a lone city when both water and land routes were completely cut off.
Without support or supplies, they ate rats, peeled tree bark, dug up grass roots, and eventually ate the corpses of fallen soldiers, repelling hundreds of enemy attacks and thwarting the plot of the surrender faction to cooperate from within. Even as their close confidants died in battle, from hunger, and from disease, they resolutely refused to surrender. Duke Mace Tyrell, aside from besieging the city, was utterly helpless against them.
A year later, Stannis finally received reinforcements from Eddard Stark, lifting the siege of Storm's End.
Stannis was a man of unwavering strength and unyielding resolve, but he was far from likable. King Robert disliked him, and Tywin knew this. Clearly, if Stannis had heard the rumors, the only reason he hadn't told the king was that he hadn't found any evidence.
Stannis is someone who doesn't easily believe rumors and insists on finding evidence before speaking.
"And Varys the Spider? He's King's Landing's chief intelligence officer. He's like a little bird flying all over the city. There's nothing he doesn't know. Hasn't he heard the rumors about Cersei and Jaime?"
"Of course he's heard of it."
"oh!"
That's really strange!
*
Varys, the chief of intelligence, is an extremely capable man. He wouldn't be so shallow as to ignore rumors. If he were to investigate, and if the incest between Cersei and Jaime is true, there's no way Varys, with his abilities, wouldn't have failed to uncover it.
If anyone in the city was the first to know about Cersei and Jaime, it would undoubtedly be Varys.
However, the strange thing is, why didn't the king know at all?
Does Varys' intelligence agency not serve the king?
So who does he serve?
The more Tywin Lannister thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed! His mind was filled with flashes of inspiration.
The high-ranking officials who had heard these 'rumors' about their daughters and sons committing heinous crimes while serving the king in King's Landing all strangely chose to remain silent.
Littlefinger is a man of his own; he is not loyal to the king, but only to himself.
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Stannis remained silent—he harbored resentment towards his brother, the king, and would only speak after finding evidence. However, given Stannis's difficult nature and his inability to get along with anyone, finding evidence without the help of others would be extremely challenging.
Varys remained silent—??? Assuming Varys knew the truth, he certainly would have known the truth, so why didn't he speak?
Lord Tywin Lannister couldn't understand why! In King's Landing, as long as Robert was there, his power was the greatest.
Why didn't Varys speak to the king?
Tywin didn't know why, but he was certain of one thing: Varys was no longer loyal to the king, otherwise this matter would have been exposed long ago, and given the king's fierce and ruthless nature, Cersei and Jaime would have already lost their heads.
Grand Maester Paisell remained silent—Paisell idolized Tywin Lannister and had always hoped that the kingdom would be ruled by the Duke of Tywin. He had worked with the Duke of Tywin for twenty years, and the Duke of Tywin knew that Grand Maester Paisell would not say or do anything detrimental to the Lannisters.
Renly is not to be trifled with—Renly is just a playful kid, not worth mentioning.
Barristan Sermi, captain of the Kingsguard, remained silent—though renowned throughout the Seven Kingdoms for his integrity, fearlessness, and exceptional martial skills, he was nothing more than a muddle-headed warrior with a brain full of straws. Perhaps the rumors hadn't even reached his ears, or perhaps he hadn't even suspected it.
Duke Tywin Lannister calmly reviewed the kingdom's key ministers and realized that what he was most worried about might not be so much—because at least one thing he could clearly tell was that the king did not have a single loyal, honest, talented, and strategic person by his side.
Varys, Littlefinger, and Paisell are talented and cunning, but they are clearly not loyal to the king; they are neither faithful nor honest.
Stannis, Renly, and Barristan are loyal and trustworthy, but they lack talent and strategy; one is stubborn, one is ignorant, and one is foolishly brave.
*
Littlefinger dared not look away, his eyes fixed on Lord Tywin, unaware that his brief conversation with Lord Tywin had revealed the current state of all the courtiers.
Tywin Lannister, who was appointed Hand of the King of Targaryen at the age of twenty, was the only person Littlefinger feared and the only person Grand Maester Paisell, the fourth Grand Master of the Kingdom, admired. His unparalleled wisdom and insight into the world were unmatched.
Duke Tywin was quite satisfied with the current state of affairs in the dynasty.
If it weren't for the fact that these courtiers were all harboring their own agendas, the clever ones were disloyal and dishonest, and the loyal and honest ones were not clever, Cersei and Jaime would already be dead.
The king was not a difficult person to deal with. His neglect of state affairs after ascending the Iron Throne, indulging only in eating, drinking, gambling, and womanizing, revealed his lack of ambition. He conquered the kingdom, but was incapable of managing it. The royal family's massive debts spoke volumes. It was only because Prime Minister Jon Snow appointed Littlefinger, who could grind a golden dragon into two, as Treasurer that the entire royal family collapsed due to their enormous debts.
Lord Tywin Lannister, having considered the overall situation, understood. He looked at Littlefinger kneeling before him: "Lord Petyr Baelish, there are two kinds of people I will not kill. Do you know which two kinds of people I am?"
Littlefinger shook his head. He had never thought about this question. Although he could come up with some alternative answers with his quick wit, why bother? This wasn't a serious question; it was simply that Duke Tywin needed someone to help him reveal the standard answer in the Duke's mind.
"Your Grace, I don't know!" Littlefinger said earnestly, with a humble expression.
Tywin looked towards the study door: "Go open the door and let Ser Gregor come in and tell you."
"Yes, sir!" Littlefinger stood up, turned his back, and his expression immediately relaxed.
He opened the door, and his eyes met those of the Demon Mountain. The two understood each other perfectly, and they passed the test.
The Mountain strode in, and Littlefinger looked like a dwarf beside him.
"Sir Gregor, tell Lord Petyr Baelish, what are the two types of people I don't kill?"