The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Blood soaked through the three layers of armor on the Mountain's left arm, dripping from the edge of the armor at his elbow. "Your Grace, I can put down the Hand, but I fear he might fall to his death. The ground is all stone. Do you want me to put him down or not?"

With a single throw, adding force to his grip, Tywin's head would smash against the stone, his brains splattering, his life extinguished!

Queen Cersei choked!

Randyll Tarly said, "Ser Gregor, Lord Tywin is the Hand of the King and Warden of the West. He is also your father. Put him down first. Right and wrong, the Seven are watching. The small council will impartially deliberate!"

"Who are you?" the Mountain roared. "The Master of Laws hasn't spoken. What right do you have to speak to me like this? I am the Lord of Dragonstone. What are you?"

Randyll Tarly was speechless, never expecting the Mountain to directly berate him. He was an Earl, indeed two ranks below the Mountain. Furthermore, while his reputation was great, he was not a key member of the small council.

The Mountain's aura was fierce and imposing. A spearhead from a previous attack was still lodged in his right calf, although it hadn't pierced through, it was still a serious wound. His armor was covered in scratches, deep scratches that were shocking to see. The chest plate was dented, with cracks and several black holes from spear thrusts.

Because Red Smoke sweated like blood, the Mountain's leg armor was stained as if dyed in blood...

A broken spear was stuck in Red Smoke's left flank. Arrows were lodged in its withers, hips, tail, and hind legs...

Man and beast, both were in a terrible state, yet still incredibly powerful, their aura as strong as a rainbow. The unicorn Red Smoke was still exceptionally mighty, its nostrils spewing breath that frightened other warhorses, its eyes blood-red, like a demon from hell...

The generals of the Reach were all secretly fearful! They knew that if they encountered the Mountain on the battlefield in the future, the best course of action would be, first, to run, as fast as possible, and second, to dig a pit, as deep as possible... They must never face this beast head-on. This was a principle they had to remember...

Mace Tyrell coughed. "Ser Gregor Clegane, you are an important member of the small council, the Master of Ships. According to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms and the will of the Seven Gods, the matter of the Hand should be handed over to the small council for a vote. If you..."

"Rest assured, Lord Mace, I am a law-abiding man and also one who always repays debts. Those who ordered the slaughter of my people will be severely punished. Before His Grace speaks, I will not hand Lord Tywin over to anyone else. Your Grace—"

Joffrey glanced around. His mother Cersei, who always prevented him from doing this and that, couldn't handle the Mountain. Randyll Tarly had shut his mouth after being scolded by the Mountain, his face still green. Lord Mace, the Master of Laws, was equally unable to make the Mountain comply, even though the Tyrell army of forty thousand men was watching menacingly in King's Landing... But in the Mountain's eyes... it seemed not worth fighting... Heh, without a doubt, I am the true king. The Mountain knows this better than anyone... Grand Maester Qyburn advised me to treat the Mountain well, and he spoke truly...

"Ser Gregor, I order you to release Lord Petyr Baelish, the Master of Coin, Grand Maester Qyburn, and... and... and my dwarf uncle Tyrion Lannister... Of course, if he wishes to be your squire, his wishes should be respected by all of us... It's just his height..." The king smiled. "I'm afraid it would be difficult for him to even pour wine for you!"

"As you command, Your Grace!" the Mountain said.

Joffrey's spirits lifted. The Mountain obeyed him implicitly! He was so happy his heart was pounding. The Mountain, whom no one could handle, obeyed him!

"Grandfather, are you alright?" Joffrey said with a smile. In a good mood, he was very polite to people.

With his face towards the ground, Tywin was miserable. His dignity, honor, authority, and pride were shattered one by one by the Mountain, making him wish he were dead. The stench from Red Smoke's breath was disgusting, making his stomach churn and his head spin. He tried hard not to vomit, because that would be seen as being frightened by the Mountain... However, his last line of defense was destroyed by King Joffrey's gentle laughter. The mocking concern in 'Grandfather, are you alright?' was full of irony. It was the last straw that broke the lion's back. Tywin's vision went black, and with a 'wah' sound, last night's fine wine and delicacies all came gushing out...

Later, this event was written into the royal history by Grand Maester Locke... Lord Tywin was captured by the Mountain in a bloody and violent manner, so frightened that his heart and soul were torn apart, vomiting all over the place...

Tywin felt shame, guilt, anxiety, anger—five poisons attacking his heart, and he fainted!

It can be seen that sometimes the destructive power of a beautiful language is no less sharp than a knife or sword, and no less powerful than the bombardment of a warhammer...

When Tywin groggily woke up, he felt cold beneath him. He reached out and touched it. With a clatter, he realized his hands and feet were chained. The underground was damp, and the darkness was as substantial as if it were wrapping around him... Where was this? Hell? Was he dead or... dreaming? Tywin had a very brief illusion of confusion... Soon, in just a few heartbeats, he woke up. He was in the black cells. It was very likely that the former Hand Eddard Stark had also been imprisoned here...

The last few Hands of the King seemed to be cursed. Some were killed, some were poisoned, some were exiled, some were imprisoned, and some disappeared and their fate remained unknown... Which category did he belong to?

He didn't know how much time had passed when the sound of footsteps echoed in the darkness. Tywin closed his eyes. What was coming would come. His daughter was a fool, his grandson was an idiot, his son was an evil dwarf, and another son was a reckless idiot who was infatuated with his foolish sister...

The footsteps stopped, and a light appeared, shining in front of Tywin. Tywin didn't dare to open his eyes. He knew that opening his eyes suddenly would be painful. A voice said in surprise, "Lord Tywin, what happened to you?"

It was Littlefinger's voice!

Lord Tywin's eyes opened a crack. After a while, they slowly opened completely. Even when his eyes had fully adjusted, he still couldn't see the person behind the light. Littlefinger was hiding in the darkness, with only a little light shining on Tywin's face.

"Did the Mountain send you?"

Littlefinger chuckled. "How could that be? Like you, I want the Mountain dead."

"Save me, what do you want? I'll give you anything!"

"—How about you eat something first, Lord Tywin. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that your cheeks are so sunken, your forehead is covered with wrinkles, and the gold threads in your majestic eyes, like yellow shit, are gone..."

*

Like yellow shit?

This was a taboo, Lord Tywin's taboo!

Once, someone in the throne room complimented Tywin, saying that his shit was gold. Everyone laughed, but Tywin didn't laugh. He just stared at that lord until the laughter in the hall stopped. A day later, that lord resigned and returned to his hometown, because he was afraid of when Tywin would send someone to kill him, and he couldn't sleep at night, and he died of fright in less than a month.

There was also a vassal in Casterly Rock who laughed at the gold threads in Tywin's green eyes as golden shit. That person disappeared that day. He was imprisoned in the underground black cells of Casterly Rock, and he was accompanied by his own shit.

Littlefinger spoke softly, politely and elegantly, saying that the gold threads in Tywin's eyes, like yellow shit, were gone. This was Tywin's sore spot.

*

"Lord Petyr Baelish, have I changed that much?" Tywin didn't show any rage or hurt, his tone was calm.

"Yes, a lot. You haven't been in the black cells for many days, why do you look like an old beggar who has been begging for more than ten years? I can't believe Lord Tywin is in front of me."

In the darkness, half a loaf of black bread was stuffed into the Duke's hand. The Duke picked it up and took a hard bite. It was as hard as a stone, and his mouth was full of rough grains. He opened his mouth, pretending to spit it out, but he forcibly endured it and began to chew and swallow it slowly, bit by bit.

The black bread was too rough, as if he was eating chaff.

Before he could finish chewing one bite, the Duke felt that his mouth was full of sand. A bag of water was delivered to his hand in time.

"Wine?" he asked.

"Water!" Littlefinger replied.

"Can't you get me a bag of wine?"

"Lord Tywin, it's illegal for me to get you a bag of water now. If the Mountain finds out, you know the consequences, your head will fall to the ground!"

"What's the situation outside?"

"What's the situation? The Tyrell family has soldiers, food, money, and people, of course they want to monopolize power. The Mountain, who has just won a great victory, is not easy to mess with. The people of King's Landing all... like the coat of arms embroidered with 'Red Smoke and Ice Sword'... Especially after he won this battle in King's Landing, the soldiers are very fond of him. It's not just his soldiers who are fond of him, I mean all the soldiers, whether they are the King's Landing garrison, the Queen's Guard, the Westerlands soldiers, or the Reach soldiers, no one doesn't regard him as a great hero..."

"Hmm!"

Tywin took a second bite of the black bread. The black bread was extremely rough, as if it was full of sand, and it had a stale smell from the previous night. If this thing was placed in the past when he was rich enough to rival a country...

"The Mountain has won over Littlefinger. He wants to recommend Littlefinger to replace you as Hand, on the condition that he recognizes him as Warden of the West and publicly tries you, then sentences you and Daven Lannister to hanging."

"Warden of the West? Hehe, the Mountain wants to swallow the West! Did Tyrion agree?"

"Now it's not a question of whether Littlefinger agrees or not, as long as His Grace nods, the Mountain will be the Warden of the West."

"Cersei won't agree! Tyrion won't either, Kevan, Lord Orys... they won't agree..."

"Yes, but it's useless even if Her Grace objects. As long as the Mountain proposes a vote in the small council, it will definitely pass."

"Who will support him?"

"To ensure my life is not in danger, I will vote for the Mountain. Qyburn will too, that old man is more afraid of death than me. The King will, and the Mountain himself will. Maybe even Tyrell, and the captain of the Kingsguard, the Knight of Flowers..."

"Kevan and Addam won't vote."

"Kevan? Forget it, he's locked up next door to you."

"He was captured?"

"He was your accomplice in the massacre of the Clegane lands, and your maester, Potter, was also arrested and locked up in the deeper underground. He wrote the massacre order for you, right?"

"Did they confess?"

"They didn't confess, but the Mountain has a blood witch from Crackclaw Point, named Dorea Qwenthyss, who tasted a little of Kevan and Potter's blood and told the truth."

"It's not the truth if it's not admitted."

"But the Mountain has a new invention that embodies the will of the gods, a strange thing that makes the common people believe it very much. Whether you are guilty or innocent, if you press your hand on it, nothing will happen to the innocent, but the guilty will be blown away."

"What is it?" Tywin stopped chewing and stopped drinking water.

"I don't know, many boxes, inside are water and salt, copper sheets, aluminum skin, and iron wires connected together. It is said to be the will of the gods, just like some evil wizards. I guess it is a kind of dark magic."

"Witchcraft's secret technique!" Tywin was very sure. He gave his own answer that he thought was correct.

"Maybe, also, don't count on Addam Marbrand, he went to attack the Dragon Gate and was killed by Sweetrobin and the executioner Dunsen. He also hit Sweetrobin's head, but unfortunately, he only split half of his helmet."

The Duke paused, then began to eat again, very slowly, expressionlessly: "What do I need to pay for you to save me?"

"Teach me a way to drive Littlefinger away, and I'll guarantee you won't die."

"If you drive Tyrion away now, this country will belong to the Tyrell family."

"But if he becomes Hand, I'll be in danger. He'll find a chance to kill me."

"Oh? You're afraid of a Mountain's puppet?!"

"Yes, I'm afraid of him. I won't say the reason. Let Tyrion leave or die, in exchange for your life, think about it. I'll come back in a few days."

"Can I trust you?"

"Don't trust me, I'm not worthy of anyone's trust, but you can take a gamble. Tyrion's death in exchange for your life, very fair!"

Silence.

After a while, Tywin took a sip of water, very slowly.

"Mace is the Master of Laws, in charge of the trial. If you can win him over to your side, someone will naturally drive away or kill Tyrion, at least he won't be able to become Hand."

"How to do it?"

"Tyrion let Sansa Stark go, and Sansa is a pet that His Grace doesn't want to lose, and is also the last hope for Queen Cersei to exchange for Jaime, but Tyrion let Sansa Stark go."

Littlefinger exclaimed 'Ah'!

"Sansa's maid, Jeyne Poole, will say anything if you scare her a little; the other maid, Shae, is a prostitute, scare her a little more, and she'll tell you everything she knows. —You are the middleman who helped Shae and Tyrion to meet, and you recommended Shae to be Sansa's maid... So that Shae and Tyrion can meet in the royal palace."

Littlefinger laughed 'Ha'.

"But Tyrion's real inside agent is Gracie Tyrell, the maid that Cersei sent to monitor Sansa. She was bought by Tyrion and became Tyrion's inside agent."

"Littlefinger has no reason to let Sansa go, she is his legal wife!"

"The first is to retaliate against me; the second reason, I guess he reached some kind of agreement with Stark through some secret channel."

"Exchange Jaime?"

"I don't know, I guess Tyrion thinks it will definitely be very beneficial to Jaime. You just need to tell Queen Cersei quietly, and let her send the executioner to arrest Jeyne Poole, Shae, and Gracie Tyrell and torture them, and the evidence will be conclusive, and the Mountain won't be able to protect Tyrion."

"Why didn't you take action against Littlefinger?"

"The Mountain came too fast..."

Silence, more silence.

"I... I've been reflecting here on the reasons for my failure... Losing to Robb Stark, the Mountain, and the witch, all stemmed from the same mistake."

"What mistake?"

"Underestimation!" The Duke said lightly, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs. "Never underestimate anyone, just as you shouldn't trust anyone."

"Yes, I'll remember that. Thank you, Your Grace."

"When will you get me out of here?"

"I don't know, Your Grace. This requires planning, and waiting. There are two families in King's Landing that I can't afford to offend right now, the Clegane family and the Tyrell family."

Is there no longer a Lannister family?! Under the dim light of a single lamp, the Duke's face instantly lost the little color it had regained!

"Lord Petyr Baelish, in consideration of my helping you become the Duke of Harrenhal, could you do me a small favor?"

"What is it?"

"Let Cersei come and see me. I am her father."

"I can't guarantee it, I can only try my best!"

"Please guarantee it!"

"No, I can't guarantee it, Your Grace. Don't underestimate anyone, and don't trust anyone," Littlefinger said.

Those were the Duke's words just now!

Littlefinger blew out the single lamp and began to walk forward in the darkness. It was unclear how he could see the path. He suddenly stopped. "Your Grace, do you know who suggested locking your hands and feet with iron chains?"

"The Mountain!"

"No, it was me!"

"............"

"I told Cersei it was to prevent you from committing suicide, and she believed it." In the darkness, came Littlefinger's mischievous chuckle.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded, and finally disappeared completely.

*

ps: There will be another update.

I can't believe it, I made it onto the monthly ticket chart on Children's Day, although it was fleeting.

After all, my results are terrible, while others' results are explosive.

I hereby wish all the children who like to read this book: Happy Children's Day!

Thanks to [Songzi A'hong], [Book Friend 160219133434334], [Chau534], [Book Friend 20180428003737213], [xiaoyu.wd], [When Sunshine Meets Our Time], [Three-Eyed Three-Gen] for their reward support, thank you, handshake!