Chapter 158: Emergency in the Vale
King's Landing, the Red Keep, Royal Gardens
"Lord Mace, you should also know that Lady Lysa Arryn of the Vale is currently a widow. We intend to arrange a marriage between Petyr Baelish and her. This way, our alliance will gain the Vale."
Kevan Lannister spoke with a slight smile. "Littlefinger" was quite capable of getting things done. With the Westerlands currently at its peak, he wasn't afraid of this fellow betraying them at all.
"This proposal is quite good. In that case, the position of the kingdom's Master of Coin should be vacated, right?"
Mace Tyrell liked this proposal very much. Once the position of Master of Ships became vacant, he hoped his cousin Paxter Redwyne could join the Small Council.
The entire kingdom basically belonged to House Lannister now. Since the two houses were in a cooperative relationship, another position on the Small Council should be vacated for the Reach.
While Lord Mace and Kevan were chatting about future plans, Olenna Tyrell and Margaery Tyrell in a certain flower pavilion were also talking in low voices.
Beside them, a singer belonging to Highgarden was performing for the lords and nobles. It was precisely under this man's cover that the grandmother and granddaughter could discuss some more private matters.
"What do you think of this Joffrey?"
Olenna Tyrell wore a grey lady's gown, and her veiled hat made her look a bit like a noblewoman from Dorne, but in reality, she was the true person in charge of the entire Reach.
The "Queen of Thorns" Olenna was a Redwyne from the Arbor. Like her family's golden wine, she was sweet at first and sharp in the finish, making her unforgettable.
"He looks like a very handsome Lannister. Perhaps Renly and his brother Stannis were right; it's very likely he really is an incestuous bastard. He was very excited today when talking about killing those Antler Men, as if..."
When Margaery got to the end, she didn't know how to describe it.
"As if a lecher looking at a girl. This fellow indeed has some problems; the intelligence we received is indeed like this."
After listening to her granddaughter Margaery's description, Lady Olenna directly voiced this comparison, which gave Margaery a bad feeling.
Rumors had been spreading throughout the Seven Kingdoms that the current Joffrey Baratheon was not of Baratheon seed at all, but the wicked spawn of the Lannister twins.
Moreover, many other rumors appeared at the same time, such as King Joffrey being bloodthirsty since childhood and enjoying torturing small animals and squires.
Many rumors were so detailed they were hard not to believe. It was precisely because these rumors were so widespread that House Tyrell had been unable to make up its mind to cooperate with the Lannisters.
This kind of matter concerned the interests of both families. If Stannis hadn't remained inactive, House Tyrell would likely have delayed for a while longer.
"I'll find someone to observe his situation for a while. Hasn't 'Littlefinger' been trying to curry favor with us? Let him send a prostitute to Joffrey and see if our king can actually get a woman pregnant and make her happy!"
Lady Olenna didn't feel shy or find it difficult to speak when saying this. In this era, children were the key to a family's continuation. Many noble lords would rather choose a broad-shouldered wife than a petite beauty.
Because if no offspring were produced, it meant the family would likely go extinct. Although the status of men and women in this world was slightly more equal, female heirs' bloodlines and inheritance rights were still not fully recognized.
Lady Olenna's current thought was actually very simple: first, she had to confirm if Joffrey had the ability to get a woman pregnant, and only then would she consider whether this fellow would get along well with her granddaughter.
If the first item was barely acceptable, Lady Olenna could accept it. But if both the first and second items were unacceptable, she might have to reconsider the marriage alliance.
Lady Olenna knew very well that the royal family still had a Prince Tommen Baratheon. If it really didn't work out, they could have their Loras Tyrell marry that Myrcella Baratheon.
"Let's leave it at that for now. It will take some time to prepare for the wedding; we can test him slowly. If it really doesn't work, then we'll just change to a new king! Anyway, I don't much like this rude little half-breed."
After whispering to her granddaughter, Lady Olenna turned her gaze toward the singer who was already singing himself hoarse. To cover for his masters, the singer had used almost all his strength, and his voice was already raspy. He would likely need a long rest after this to continue performing.
"Look, isn't that Grand Maester Pycelle?"
Just then, a maid of House Tyrell suddenly cried out.
When everyone looked over, they saw the hunched figure of Grand Maester Pycelle trotting over. He looked extremely anxious, and the letter in his hand fluttered in the wind like a willow branch.
"Lord Kevan, you need to see this intelligence. This is news we just received."
After taking the letter from Grand Maester Pycelle's hand, Kevan Lannister's expression instantly turned grim. Upon seeing his expression, Lord Mace became increasingly curious about the message.
"What's wrong, Lord Kevan? Has that pretender Stannis attacked again? Don't worry, we currently hold Harrenhal. As long as we disperse our forces and avoid a direct confrontation with him, he won't be able to cause us any real harm!"
This was a new strategy Renly Baratheon had come up with after suffering a defeat. Lord Mace had claimed it as his own to make himself appear more capable.
"No, it's not. The problem this time isn't Stannis, but our north!"
"The North!?"
Upon hearing Kevan's words, Lord Mace was clearly stunned for a moment.
"What!? Could it be that the Northerners have attacked?"
"No, that's not it. I'm talking about the Vale!"
Hearing Lord Mace's guess, Kevan realized his words were a bit ambiguous.
"The wildlings of the Mountain Clans have blocked the High Road. Our connection with the Vale is now down to just the sea route."
"Mountain Clans!?"
Having lived in a fine place like the Reach for a long time, Lord Mace had clearly never experienced the danger of wildlings. In his eyes, the most chaotic place in the Reach was just the Red Mountains, where there were mostly just bandits and rebel knights. He found it hard to understand a rebellion by an entire group like the Mountain Clans.
"Were there no signs of this before?"
Thinking of something, Kevan quickly asked Grand Maester Pycelle.
"There were some raven messages before, but most were just ordinary intelligence exchanges. You know, Lord Kevan, I've never been in charge of intelligence; you'll have to ask that fat Spider about this!"
Hearing Grand Maester Pycelle's explanation, Kevan realized that for such matters, he indeed shouldn't ask the Grand Maester, but rather the Spider who weaves webs everywhere.
Coincidentally, the Master of Whisperers of the Small Council, Varys the Spider, happened to be in the Royal Gardens. So very quickly, Kevan directly approached the fat eunuch, who smelled of powder.
At this time, Varys also seemed to be holding a roll of paper similar to a raven message. Seeing Kevan approach, a sense of unease appeared in Varys's heart.
"What exactly is going on in the Vale? Respected Lord Varys, you couldn't get intelligence from the Stormlands, which can be excused by the ongoing war, but now the Vale, which has been peaceful, suddenly sends such news. I'd like to know if you received any word at all, or if—"
Kevan's meaning was clear: if he hadn't received word, was Varys intentionally hiding it?
"This has nothing to do with me! Lord Kevan, before you came to King's Landing, I had already personally told our noble King Joffrey and the Queen Regent about this in the Small Council meeting, but..."
After sensing the deeper meaning in Kevan's words, Varys quickly explained. Such things were recorded in the Small Council meeting minutes, so after hearing Varys's explanation, Kevan's suspicion of him lessened considerably.
"Six days ago, I already sent a report to the Vale collected by my 'little birds.' The intelligence indicated that the clansmen of the Mountain Clans in the Vale were being frequently mobilized. Something might have linked them together."
There was a trace of sorrow in Varys's voice. After sending five raven messages in a row, no information had returned from the Eyrie, almost making him think the Eyrie had been captured.
"And the most recent intelligence indicates that these clansmen have many weapons in their hands. This is uncommon, so I suspect external forces have intervened."
"Hiss..."
After listening to Varys's analysis, Kevan and Lord Mace both drew in a sharp breath. The current situation was not good for them at all.
Stannis and the royal family were now in a war of attrition, with both sides in a very delicate balance. But once someone added weight to one side, the scales representing this war would change.
"Then we can only contact the Vale as quickly as possible. Only if they agree will we have a reason to send troops."
After saying this, Kevan's eyes looked toward the northwest, intentionally or not. He couldn't make the decision for now and could only contact his brother.
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