The heavy two-handed greatsword "Ice" fell for the last time, ending the life of the dire wolf named "Lady".
Ed numbly returned the sword, the screeching sound of metal rubbing echoing through the dead courtyard.
The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and silent grief.
He dragged his lead-heavy legs and walked step by step towards the temporary residence arranged for him in the castle.
The gleam of victory on the queen's beautiful face flashed in his mind, and Robert's back as he left in silence and avoided his gaze.
Exhaustion, anger, helplessness, and deep sadness almost made him feel at home.
What did he do to leave his beloved north and come to this south full of lies and conspiracies? !
Ed promised Caitlin to take Sansa and Arya south, thinking that it was to fulfill his wife's wish and give his daughters a possible glorious future.
However, fate seems to have played one cruel joke after another on him.
Before that, Bran fell from a tower and is still unconscious, and his life and death are uncertain.
Then, in the territory of the Dari family, Arya and Joffrey broke out in a fierce conflict.
Arya insists that it was Yangfori who first attacked the poor butcher's son Mikael with a sword, and then Arya stopped the prince's absurd behavior, but met with retaliation, and her direwolf "Namelia" bit the prince's hand to protect his master.
The arrogant Joffrey reversed black and white, accusing the butcher's son and the "wild girl" Arya of joining forces to besiege him.
In the face of a situation where everyone has their own opinions, Queen Cersei shows the madness and ruthlessness of her calf protection.
She ordered that the head of the direwolf "lady" be cut off as punishment.
And Robert, under Cersei's crying and pressure, actually acquiesced to this ridiculous and cruel ruling.
Back in the cold and unfamiliar room, Ed just wanted to fall headlong into the bed and forget all about it for a while.
However, there was a knock on the door.
Guard Jori Keso pushed open the door and respectfully invited a visitor in.
The person who came had a handsome face, a neat chin, and a smile always hanging on the corner of his mouth.
He wore a well-tailored, valuable dark green velvet coat embroidered with gold thread with intricate vine patterns, and a delicate brooch pinned to the neckline.
It was the king's youngest son, the important minister of the Imperial Council, the Duke of Windsibour, and the Duke of Windsibour, Lanley Baratheon.
Ed's already tightened brows instantly furrowed deeper, and his gray-blue eyes unabashedly revealed vigilance and alienation.
A few days ago, on the banks of the Trident River, this Lord Lan Li was among the team sent by King's Landing to greet the king.
Ed instinctively wanted to keep his distance from the king's brother, who was accused by Stannis of being the prime suspect in the murder of Jon Arryn in a secret letter.
He just wanted to arrive in King's Landing as soon as possible and look for clues.
He suppressed the disgust in his heart, and his voice was cold as if he were rejecting others: "Lord Lan Li? It's so late, is there anything wrong? "
Lan Li smiled brightly and took out a delicate and small golden locket from his arms, with a rose carved on the lid.
"It's so late, of course, there is a 'good thing' that needs to be troubled by our new prime minister." "
Ed was full of doubts.
Stuff?
He looked vigilantly at the golden rose pendant in Lan Li's hand, which shimmered with an attractive luster in the candlelight.
Lan Li's thumb tapped the mechanism, and with a soft "click", the lid of the box popped open.
It was not a jewel, but a miniature portrait painted on a thin sheet of ivory, using Mill's finest skill. Ed's eyes fell on the face of the girl in the painting, and his pupils shrank suddenly!
The girl in the painting has a pair of warm eyes like a fawn, soft long brown hair, a good face, and a gentle temperament.
This face...
Lan Li's scorching gaze locked on Ed's gray eyes, not letting go of any slight changes in his face.
He spoke tentatively, his voice deliberately guided: "Master Ed, do you think—does this young lady look a little familiar? Does she look like an old friend you know? "
His words are slightly aggravated by the word "old man".
Ed frowned, his eyes lingered on the portrait for a moment, and then he shook his head decisively, his voice flat: "I'm sorry, Lord Lanli, I didn't see any shadow of my old friend in it." "
The perfect smile on Lan Li's face stagnated slightly, and a trace of disappointment that could not be concealed quickly passed through his eyes.
He exhaled softly, as if adjusting his mood, and then said slowly in a still relaxed but less eager tone: "Lord Ed, this is the pearl of the High Court, Miss Margaret Tyrell. "
He paused, his eyes sharpened again on Ed, and threw a crucial blow: "I was told that she looks—
Very much like your sister, Miss Lyanna Stark. "
After saying that, his eyes were once again firmly locked on Ed's face, waiting for his most authentic reaction.
Ed's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.
Like Leanna?
He carefully examined the gentle deer eyes and brown soft hair of the girl in the painting, and only felt ridiculous in his heart.
Lyana's beauty is wild, unrestrained, like a winter snow rose blooming in the cold winter, with the fierceness of the north and the freedom of a galloping horse.
The Margaret Tyrell in the painting is beautiful, but it is a midsummer rose carefully cultivated in the greenhouse, docile and delicate, with the sweetness of the sun and honey in the river bend.
The temperament of the two is very different and there is no similarity.
He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head again: "I'm afraid the person who told you is mistaken, Lyanna doesn't look like this." "
The last trace of forced smile on Lan Li's face also disappeared completely.
He was silent for a moment, then smiled again, as if the loss had never happened.
"I see, it seems that someone misled me and disturbed me, Mr. Prime Minister, I wish you a good dream."
He bowed slightly, turned around smoothly, and left the room.
Ed stood at the door, his brows furrowed, looking at Lan Li's back disappearing into the dim light of the corridor, his heart full of vigilance against this unpredictable king's brother.
He closed the door and leaned his back against the cold door panel, trying to clarify the intention of Lan Li's abrupt visit.
Suddenly, a thought entered his mind!
In Telossi, Stannis personally told him that Lane intended to unite with the Tyrell family, depose Cersei, and let Robert marry Margaret Tyrell as the new queen.
And Robert, the love of his life and the one he will never forget, is Lyanna.
That's why Lan Li took Margaret's portrait and asked him if he looked like Lyanna.
Lan Li was testing whether Robert would be moved by the feeling of resembling Leanna after seeing Margaret.
He wanted to use Robert's obsession with Leanna as a bargaining chip to promote the swap plan.
All the clues are instantly connected in series, forming a tight logical chain.
Stannis didn't lie to him, and Lan Li's replacement plan was real.
A chill rose from Ed's spine.
If he had received a secret letter from Stannis before, accusing Lan Li of being the real culprit of Jon Arryn's murder, he would still be suspicious and maintain a cautious attitude.
So at this moment, after experiencing Lan Li's temptation firsthand, he could almost conclude.
Ranley Baratheon is behind it!
A strong impulse surged over him, and he almost immediately wanted to rush out, break into King Robert's room, and spread this terrible conspiracy, the ugliness of this brother's wall reading, and the crime of murdering a high-ranking minister before his brother, who was paralyzed by alcohol and pleasure.
However, the remnants of reason instantly choked his throat.
Evidence!
The key to everything is evidence!
Based on Stannis' secret letter and his own speculation alone, he wanted to bring down a king's brother and a high-ranking minister of the Imperial Council?
This is tantamount to a fool's dream!
On the contrary, it will only startle the snake, and may even be bitten back and fall into a place of no return.
Clues -
Only when you arrive at King's Landing can you find evidence that can confirm that Lan Li is the murderer.
Ed's gaze became unusually firm.
King's Landing trip is not only for Sansa's engagement, for Caitlin's expectations, but also for Jon Arryn's grievances.
He exhaled heavily, as if to temporarily suppress the depression and anger in his chest.
Unfortunately, he learned that Stannis had left King's Landing and returned to Dragonstone.
Otherwise, he really wanted to have an in-depth secret talk with the king's brother, who was as cold as iron, to exchange information and conspire against each other.
However, Stannis' choice to contact him in such an extremely secretive way also shows that the matter involves a wide range of things and the risks are great, and there is no room for the slightest mistake.
Blatant contact will only lead to death.
Ed didn't know that just as he was in the south and had a heart-to-heart exchange, the situation in distant Winterfell had become turbulent because of Bran's attack.
Lady Caitlyn, the resilient mistress of Winterfell, has made a bold decision, driven by great grief and anger.
Together with her loyal coach, Sir Roderick Kesso, she will secretly cross the sea from White Harbor to King's Landing and personally inform Ed about Bran's assassination.