Upon receiving news of the victory at the Battle of the Blackwater in King's Landing, Ser Jeslyn Beesbury immediately escorted the King's brother, Tommen Baratheon, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, and Sansa Stark back to King's Landing.
However, they did not yet know if King Joffrey Baratheon was still alive.
Therefore, after Ser Jeslyn Beesbury had escorted everyone back, he went out to inquire about the news.
The young Tommen Baratheon, wearing a crown, climbed up the tall iron throne step by step. He looked at the iron chair with curiosity and sat down.
He thought to himself, "So this is where Father and my brother sat. It is so cold and hard; it is not comfortable at all."
However, he felt that sitting on this tall iron chair and overlooking everyone was an absolutely wonderful feeling; it was no wonder everyone fought to the death for this thing.
In the throne room, Tommen Baratheon sat on the iron throne, shifting his body, trying to find a comfortable sitting position.
Cersei Lannister looked at her youngest son with a gentle smile, but in her heart, she, like Sansa Stark, was worried about Joffrey's safety.
After some time, noisy commotion and messy footsteps sounded from outside the great hall.
It turned out that His Majesty the King, Joffrey, had returned victorious and walked into the throne room surrounded by ministers.
However, as soon as they entered, everyone saw the King's brother, Tommen Baratheon, sitting upright on the iron throne wearing the crown. The flattering, bright smiles on their faces instantly froze.
The ministers lowered their heads, blinking and looking at one another, standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
Joffrey Baratheon looked up at his brother Tommen, and Tommen Baratheon also looked down at his brother Joffrey.
Their gazes met, and beyond familial affection, a hint of something else was surging.
Tommen, having just adjusted his posture, looked at his brother Joffrey who had returned safely. His first thought was actually confusion as to why his brother was still alive.
This terrible thought startled him. He did not know why he would think that, but he really liked this iron chair.
From the moment he first saw it upon returning to The Red Keep from Rosby, he had become somewhat infatuated with this position. This feeling of sitting on high, above all living beings, was intoxicating.
The poison of power is always the most potent poison in the world.
At this moment, Sansa Stark suddenly rushed out and hugged Joffrey, sobbing loudly in his arms. She was truly relieved that her Joffrey was still alive.
Joffrey also reached out and hugged his beloved Sansa Stark, patting her back to comfort her and indicating that he was fine.
It was because of this interruption by Sansa Stark that the initially tense atmosphere was eased.
However, the original problem remained unresolved. Finally, Cersei Lannister, seeing that something was wrong, hurriedly spoke up:
"Tommen, your brother has returned. Aren't you the one who cares most about your brother? Why don't you come down and see him?"
Awakened by his mother Cersei Lannister's words, Tommen realized that he seemed to have done something wrong.
He took off the crown, hurriedly ran down from the iron throne, and ran smiling to his brother Joffrey's side.
Joffrey stroked his brother Tommen Baratheon's little head, and a smile finally appeared on his face.
Seeing this, the ministers around Joffrey also let out a long sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Varys, the master of whisperers, and Petyr Baelish, the master of coin, who were mixed in the crowd, remained with their heads bowed. Their gazes were flickering, and no one knew what they were thinking.
...
In the throne room.
"My good grandfather, who allowed an outsider like you to ride a horse and carry a sword into the hall?"
Joffrey sat on the tall iron throne, looking down at Tywin Lannister. His eyes were as scorching as fire, and the red flame pattern in his pupils burned without fading.
The flames were raging, majestic and imposing.
"Your Majesty, please remember that it was House Lannister that saved you and this broken chair of yours." Tywin Lannister looked up, squinting at Joffrey on high, and spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Tywin Lannister did not know what had happened to the world. When that red comet streaked across the sky, he had led his troops across the Blackwater Rush and charged into the Kingswood.
But when he arrived at the battlefield, he saw with his own eyes his grandson bathing in the flames in mid-air, possessing the power to destroy the world with just a wave of his hand.
From the very beginning of the war, there were too many things that could not be explained by common sense. The first thing Tywin encountered was the death of Eddard Stark, and the second was Joffrey's display of power that day.
Tywin had not seen with his own eyes how Eddard Stark died, only speculating that it might have been the Faceless Men of Braavos. But Joffrey manipulating flames was something he had seen with his own eyes and could not question.
"Lord Tywin, it was not just House Lannister that saved King's Landing, but House Lannister and House Tyrell, as well as my uncle Tyrion Lannister and the soldiers who fought bravely within the city."
After the war, when Joffrey learned that his uncle Tyrion Lannister had been ambushed and was in a coma, he felt very guilty and deeply moved. At critical moments, one really has to rely on the Imp Tyrion, he thought.
Therefore, after Tywin Lannister arrived, Joffrey still retained Tyrion's position as hand of the king. Their shared life-and-death experience made Joffrey trust his uncle even more.
Besides that, Joffrey was also preparing to grant Tyrion a castle.
After the Battle of the Blackwater, Joffrey had only granted castles to two people. One was Garlan Tyrell, who had performed meritorious service; Joffrey gave him House Florent's Brightwater Keep.
The other was his good uncle Tyrion Lannister; Joffrey was prepared to wait for him to wake up and let him choose for himself.
Because after the war, Joffrey, in the name of the iron throne, had stripped many families who participated in Stannis's rebellion of their castles, changing them to be garrisoned by officials sent by the state.
Moreover, each official had a fixed term to prevent them from becoming all-powerful landlords in the local area. Most of these nobles who were stripped of their castles were from The Reach, and a small portion were from The Stormlands.
Their participation in Stannis's treason became the perfect excuse for Joffrey to implement his new policy of centralization, but he could not be too hasty; it had to be done step by step.
Joffrey thought for a moment and prepared to proceed in several steps: first, to implement a transition using the system of commanderies and principalities from the early Han Dynasty under Liu Bang; then, to use various means to achieve the centralization of local power as Emperor Jing of Han did; and finally, to implement the Ordinance of Grace of Emperor Wu of Han.
In this way, step by step, he would consolidate power back to the iron throne and ultimately establish a unified country.
After thinking for a moment, Joffrey felt that he did not need to compromise with Tywin Lannister now.
Although the army under Tywin Lannister was stationed outside the city, Joffrey had not feared anyone since he awakened his Devil Fruit ability. He felt that he had transcended the mundane world and shed his mortal coil to become a god.
Moreover, this man Tywin Lannister must absolutely not be heavily relied upon. His abilities were indeed very strong, but conversely, his desire for power was simply too great. This old lion could pounce and bite him at any moment.
"Now, I will say it again: who allowed an outsider like you to ride a horse and carry a sword into the hall!"
Joffrey Baratheon stood up, glaring angrily, and pointed at Tywin Lannister, shouting: "Guards! Disarm him! Strip him of his armor!"
As soon as his voice fell, before Tywin Lannister could react, a group of soldiers rushed out from both sides of the great hall, surrounding him along with his horse.
These soldiers wore golden armor and golden cloaks, their spears pointed directly at Lord Tywin Lannister on his horse.
Subsequently, the leader of the City Watch, Ser Jeslyn Beesbury, walked out, drew the longsword at his waist, pointed it at Tywin Lannister, and shouted:
"His Majesty has ordered, Lord Tywin, disarm!"
At the same time, all the Gold Cloaks in the great hall raised their spears and shouted in unison:
"Disarm!" "Disarm!" "Disarm!" "..."
The voices merged into one, neat and resounding, echoing incessantly in the great hall where the iron throne stood, like a gale passing through.
Looking at his grandson Joffrey on the iron throne with burning eyes, and the shining silver spears in the hands of the Gold Cloaks around him, Lord Tywin Lannister, always known for his toughness, let out a helpless sigh and eventually lowered his head.
Under Joffrey's majestic gaze, Tywin Lannister slowly dismounted. He snorted coldly, threw the longsword bearing the lion sigil onto the ground, and then unbuckled his blood-stained armor.
Tywin thought to himself: This boy has grown his wings; I can no longer move against him.
After Tywin Lannister disarmed, he looked up at His Majesty the King.
Looking at Joffrey's golden hair and green eyes, which bore the strong marks of House Lannister, and that familiar, handsome face, Tywin seemed to see the shadow of his own son, Jaime Lannister.
He knew he was old; when people get old, they become sentimental. It was only at this moment that Tywin finally understood the feeling his father Tytos felt when he was sidelined by him.
He smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, you are truly becoming more and more like a lion now."
Having said this, Tywin ignored the gazes of the surrounding ministers and turned to walk out of the hall step by step.
He did not care whether the ministers were mocking or ridiculing him, just as a lion would not care about the opinions of sheep.
Tywin Lannister walked out of The Red Keep and had someone call his brother Kevan Lannister. He thought: This time I lost by a small margin, but next time, it may not be the same.
...
Watching Tywin Lannister's receding figure, some ministers laughed in their hearts, while others looked sad; it could be considered a microcosm of life.
But they all knew one thing: this powerful minister who had governed the country for many years, Lord Tywin Lannister, was truly old.
Watching Lord Tywin's aged back, Grand Maester Pycelle could finally no longer control his emotions and was suddenly in tears, for Tywin Lannister was Pycelle's lifelong faith.
Now that the hero was in his twilight years, he could not help but sigh and weep.
Joffrey Baratheon, sitting on the iron throne, watched Pycelle covering his face and weeping, but said nothing.
After the Battle of the Blackwater, Joffrey had released Pycelle from prison, because although Grand Maester Pycelle's character was not great, he was indeed loyal to House Lannister, and his knowledge was very profound.
Joffrey thought about sending Grand Maester Pycelle to Casterly Rock to let him retire with Tywin Lannister, but then thought better of it.
Grand Maester Pycelle had been in King's Landing for decades, serving multiple monarchs, so he could be considered experienced.
Moreover, Pycelle was already an open card; he already knew that Pycelle was loyal to House Lannister in his heart, so he just needed to be on guard.
If he had The Citadel send someone new, he wouldn't know which family's spy it might be.
Furthermore, Joffrey Baratheon also had a deep wariness of The Citadel.
Ever since he awakened, he could clearly feel that there was a restriction suppressing magic near The Citadel.
Moreover, Archmaester Marwyn of The Citadel was probably not a simple character; the original work had been laying the groundwork for this person's ability and knowledge since Volume 1.
The matter of Pycelle and The Citadel would be left as is for now, Joffrey thought. He still had to keep his grandfather Tywin Lannister in King's Landing; people with the ability to threaten royal power must be kept under his own nose to be at ease.