King's Landing, The Great Sept of Baelor.
Just as the commoners of King's Landing were beginning their daily, mechanical routines, the seven bell towers atop The Great Sept of Baelor suddenly began to ring.
The tolling of the bells was continuous, echoing across the sky. The sound was like the blood-stained cries of a cuckoo or the mournful wails of apes, mourning the tears of all living beings and sighing at the fleeting nature of life.
People knew that this tolling signified the death of an important figure in the kingdom; the last time it had rung was upon the death of the old Hand of the King, Jon Arryn.
Immediately after, people realized the bells were tolling one after another, ringing seven times in total, which meant His Majesty the King had passed away!
People dropped their tools and rushed towards The Great Sept of Baelor in a scramble. To the commoners of King's Landing, King Robert could be considered a wise ruler.
Never mind that Robert was extravagant by nature and always loved hosting tournaments and lavish banquets.
Yet these activities significantly improved the living standards of the populace; the accommodation fees from the knightly lords attending the tournaments alone were enough to cover their expenses for a year.
As for things like starting the War of the Usurper or usurping the throne, that was none of their business. If another king took the throne, they would still only earn a few coppers a month, perhaps even less than under King Robert.
By the time these people arrived, the square in front of The Great Sept of Baelor was already packed, with hundreds of Gold Cloaks holding spears to maintain order.
Some of the commoners knew a bit of the inside story, while others were just gossiping, all discussing it in a cacophony of voices.
"Have you heard? King Robert is dead!"
"Of course I've heard. I also heard he was killed by his younger brother, Renly Baratheon."
"Nonsense! Lord Renly is so handsome and kind; he would never do such a thing!"
"Then why did he run off to Storm's End overnight? It's because he's guilty."
"Don't talk nonsense, I heard King Robert was killed by the Lannisters."
"Yours is even more ridiculous. The Queen is from House Lannister, how could she kill her own husband?"
"Why did I hear that King Robert was gored to death by a boar while hunting?"
"Wasn't he stuffed to death from eating boar?"
"Stop arguing. Why did those annoying bells ring again? It wouldn't be that the new King Joffrey has kicked the bucket, would it? He looks perfectly healthy to me."
"He's alive and well, standing right up there! The last toll was just to assemble the troops, don't talk if you don't know anything."
At any time, the commoners are always confused and easily incited, but in their discussions, they were inadvertently piecing together fragments of the truth.
Someone fell silent first, and in an instant, everyone quieted down; only Eddard Stark, kneeling on the high platform, began to speak.
"I am the Lord of Winterfell and hand of the king, Eddard Stark. I am a close friend of King Robert, and after his passing, I have served as Regent in accordance with his last will and testament."
Eddard Stark, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, knelt on the platform and shouted to the people of King's Landing.
"Now, before the High Septon, Baelor the Blessed, and the Seven in Heaven, I hereby confess my crimes: I have betrayed my friend, Robert Baratheon. While his body was still warm, I conspired with traitors, intending to usurp the throne and declare myself king."
"May the Seven in Heaven bear witness to the truth I speak: Joffrey Baratheon, son of His Majesty the King, Robert Baratheon, is the only legitimate heir to the iron throne, and is the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm."
Eddard Stark did not know what kind of grief and humiliation he felt as he finished speaking these words; a man who had always valued honor and justice, he never thought he would see such a day.
Looking at the clamoring crowd below, he heard curses, spit, and many discussions.
He looked at the statue of Baelor not far away and cursed inwardly: The Seven are all bullshit; all that talk about upholding justice and protecting the weak is complete nonsense! I am kneeling here, and I haven't seen a shred of mercy from you; it turns out the old gods of the North are the only ones that actually work.
To tell the truth, Eddard Stark really wanted to shout out the following words right now:
"The legitimate heir to His Majesty King Robert Baratheon is absolutely not this despicable bastard Joffrey Hill, born of the incest between Queen Cersei and the Kingsguard Jaime Lannister!"
"His Majesty King Robert Baratheon has no legitimate heirs, therefore the only legal heir to the iron throne is Stannis Baratheon of Dragonstone!"
But he looked at his daughter, Sansa Stark, who was standing beside him, weeping as she gazed at him, and ultimately swallowed those words.
Just then, the High Septon stepped out.
He was not tall, and his figure was somewhat bloated; his round, large belly was almost bursting out of his priestly robes.
His eyes were small, and his nose bridge was high. Moreover, his face was truly too large, and under the sunlight, it seemed to glisten with greasy oil.
The High Septon wore a garment underneath that only a septon could wear, covered by an all-white robe, and on his head was a crown inlaid with gold and crystals.
He knelt before King Joffrey, muttering continuously: "Because we are sinful, we suffer."
Joffrey politely told the High Septon to rise, and the High Septon was very pleased. He did not know that the Joffrey before him was cursing him in his heart.
Joffrey looked at this fat High Septon, his thoughts churning.
He thought: It seems the Church has embezzled quite a lot of the people's wealth over these years; that is all my money! My money!
Joffrey made up his mind to find an opportunity to open this treasure chest that was the Church.
At this moment, the High Septon raised his hands high, the crystal crown on his head shining with seven-colored brilliance in the sunlight, and he prayed to the heavens:
"This man, Eddard Stark, before the Seven in Heaven and the mortals on Earth, has confessed all his crimes in this sacred place of The Great Sept of Baelor."
"The Seven are just, righteous, and merciful. I ask His Majesty the King to decide how to deal with this traitor."
As soon as he finished speaking, the High Septon tactfully took a few steps back, leaving the center stage on the platform to the new King, Joffrey Baratheon I.
In the eyes of the crowd, His Majesty King Joffrey Baratheon I stood up and slowly walked over.
People all saw King Joffrey wearing a crown, holding a longsword in his hand. He wore red clothes, with golden threads fluttering.
His face was handsome and dashing, his bearing imposing. His eyes were sharp as a sword, his aura fully exposed. With his appearance, a kingly air of dominance emerged, commanding respect without anger.
He looked at the people in the city with a smile and said: "To err is human. Even Baelor the Blessed would not dare to say he lived his life without shame or regret."
Having said this, Joffrey turned his head to look at the High Septon behind him.
The High Septon immediately understood, quickly stepped forward, and responded: "His Majesty the King is right!" Then he retreated again, thinking to himself: How the hell would I know if Baelor had any regrets in his life? If you say he didn't, then he didn't.
Joffrey continued: "Therefore, in consideration of the years of sincere friendship between my father and him, as well as his outstanding contributions to the country during his time leading armies and serving as hand of the king."
"I am willing to forgive his crimes and grant him the grace to take the black, go to the Wall, and become an honorable member of the Night's Watch, fighting for the honor and safety of the realm!"
The word of a king is worth a thousand gold pieces; hearing the order personally issued by Joffrey, Sansa Stark finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her father's life was finally saved.
The Riverlands, Harrenhal.
Harrenhal was built by Harren the Black, who invested thousands of lives, countless weirwood trees, and nearly forty years of time. Harrenhal was three times the size of Winterfell, with an astonishing surface area, and the castle's defenses were impregnable.
When Harren the Black was urged to surrender by Aegon the Conqueror, he claimed it was the strongest castle in the world, and no one could break in.
Then he met a tragic end, because he had not considered that Aegon the Conqueror had three dragons.
Ever since its completion, there have been rumors that Harrenhal is haunted by ghosts and curses; these ghosts are the craftsmen and slaves cruelly killed by Harren the Black, and the curse prevents anyone from holding the castle for long.
The strangeness lies here: all the families who have ever held Harrenhal have died out completely. The current owner of Harrenhal is Shella Whent of House Whent, who is also the Lady of Harrenhal.
But Lord Tywin, who was incomparably confident, would not believe in such superstitions; he only believed in what he saw with his own eyes.
At this moment, Tywin Lannister was sitting at the conference table in Harrenhal. Sitting along the large conference table were Tyrion Lannister, Kevan Lannister, Ser Addam Marbrand, Leo Lefford, Ser Flement Brax, Lymond Lydden, and Lord Serrett.
They had won this war, but they felt not a shred of happiness.
Because not long after the war ended, Tywin Lannister received news: his son, Jaime Lannister, had been ambushed by Robb Stark, suffered a crushing defeat in the Whispering Wood, and had been taken prisoner.
The lords of the Westerlands were at a loss, because they knew the importance of Jaime Lannister to Tywin Lannister.
This was Tywin's eldest son and heir; if Jaime Lannister died, Tywin would have to pass Casterly Rock to his youngest son, Tyrion Lannister, which was something he did not want to see under any circumstances.
And the many important figures they had captured in the Battle of the Green Fork—Medger Cerwyn, Harrion Karstark, Wylis Manderly, Donnel Locke, Jaremy Frey, Hosteen Frey, Danwell Frey, and Ronnel Rivers—added together did not equal the value of Jaime Lannister alone.
Not to mention that Medger Cerwyn had died from his wounds shortly after being captured.
The atmosphere in the conference hall suddenly became heavy.
Just then, Tyrion Lannister took a big gulp of red wine and said to everyone: "Fortunately, my good nephew didn't impulsively chop off Eddard Stark's head, otherwise we would be in big trouble."
Ser Addam Marbrand, sitting next to him, looked puzzled: "Why would you think your nephew Joffrey would chop off Eddard Stark's head?"
Ser Addam Marbrand continued: "I think even if someone is not very bright, they wouldn't do something like that, would they?"
"You can question my intelligence, but you absolutely cannot question the level of my nephew's brain damage. Although I don't know why he has suddenly become normal now, I feel his mental state is still open to question."
Tyrion Lannister said with a laugh to Ser Addam Marbrand.
At this time, Kevan Lannister, who had been sitting on the side and remained silent the whole time, spoke up.
He first glanced at his brother, Tywin Lannister, who was sitting at the head of the table, and after receiving a nod, he said:
"Now we need to contact Cersei and Joffrey in King's Landing, and then send an army to safely bring Eddard Stark to the front line."
"Finally, we will discuss with Robb Stark of the North where to exchange hostages, as well as negotiate the issue of war reparations."
Kevan Lannister spoke in a loud and clear voice, and everyone present heard it very clearly. The meaning was simple: both sides should discuss exchanging hostages to end the war sooner.
Everyone also knew that Kevan's meaning was Tywin's meaning; it was just that Kevan was speaking on behalf of his brother.
Finally, Tywin Lannister made the decision. He stood up and said to everyone: "Then let it be done."
After speaking, he left the conference hall first, and Kevan Lannister followed closely behind him.