69novels Chapter 120 Magnificent Splendor
Chapter 120 Magnificent Splendor
Chapter 120 Magnificent Splendor
A city is like a woman.
If King's Landing is a street urchin who has never taken a bath, then Lannisport is a simple and refreshing milkmaid.
In the past, her hair was fragrant with the scent of herbs and plants.
But now all that's left is the smell of smoke and dust.
The workers were busy rebuilding on the ruins, and Joffrey, not wanting to disturb them, walked through the ruins and led his team straight to Casterly Rock.
His entourage wasn't so grand that the entire city lined the streets to welcome him and even had the roads renovated.
However, Tywin still dispatched several hundred Lannister warriors to escort him down the wide steps from the Lion's Mouth, a natural cavern two hundred feet high.
He himself opened the city gates wide and stood in the courtyard inside.
Joffrey rode up, dismounted, and looked at the duke before him.
"Your Majesty, Casterly Rock awaits your command." Tywin knelt on one knee.
Suddenly, Joffrey felt a sense of disorientation.
After several months apart, Tywin seemed less imposing than before.
Or rather, Joffrey realized he was getting old.
He always had a stern and unsmiling demeanor, which was quite intimidating. Coupled with his bald head, it always made Joffrey worry that he would go bald prematurely.
While Tywin was also very tall, he was far less strong than Robert and shorter than Jaime.
But James always gives people a frivolous feeling. People who don't know him well will think he is charming, witty, cold and arrogant.
The more you get to know him, the more you realize he's actually a brainless idiot.
"Lord Tywin, Grandfather. Why are you being so polite with me?"
Joffrey stepped forward and quickly helped him up.
Although the two are grandfather and grandson on the surface, they are not actually close, but they still have to go through the most basic etiquette.
Fortunately, Joffrey had no motive to go to the crypt, so he wouldn't offend anyone and there was no need for him to go to the Hall of Heroes to see a bunch of dead bodies.
The Lannister family members throughout history are buried there, and hundreds of knights, lords, and kings’ precious armor are on display.
In contrast, the crypts of Winterfell were much more shabby.
They could only carve a stone statue and place an iron sword across its leg.
This kind of treatment is only enjoyed by the King in the North and the Duke of Winterfell.
Eddard's sister Lyanna and his brother Brandon were added by him as special cases.
After exchanging pleasantries, Joffrey and his party walked through the Golden Corridor to the Great Hall of Casterly Rock.
The treasures displayed on both sides of the corridor left the country bumpkins, who had been marveling at the sights of Gaoting not long ago, speechless once again.
If historical records are accurate, Casterly Rock was founded in the Dawn Era, making it over ten thousand years old.
The castle is named after a First Men family, the Kesdley. The place was later stolen by the clever Lannisters, the Lannister ancestors, and they never changed the name.
There are many versions of Lanny's methods in the legends.
For example, he might be covered in butter and sneak into a secret passage, whispering threats in the ears of all the sleeping Kesters, and howling like a demon.
Some say that a group of rats and lions were sent in, which either ate the people or scared them away.
But everyone still prefers that one set.
Lanny had all the sleeping virgins in the city to himself, and nine months later, they were all pregnant with blond children.
In any case, the Kesdley family suddenly disappeared from history, and the Lannister family emerged out of nowhere.
Their ancestor was a legendary thief who lived to be three hundred years old and had one hundred brave sons and one hundred agile daughters.
This also resulted in the Lannisters having far more branches than other ancient families, a significant disadvantage compared to single-lineage families like the Starks and Arryn.
Meanwhile, there are hundreds of mines at the bottom of the castle.
Even after thousands of years of mining, rich red gold and gold still gleam deep within the rocks.
In other words, as long as Casterly Rock stands, the Lannisters will always have a chance to turn things around.
Amidst the exclamations of praise, Baron, who was usually quiet, suddenly became the loudest.
"I originally thought that Highground and Red Castle were already magnificent enough, but I didn't expect there to be castles that are even more luxurious than them."
"Is all of this gold?" he asked, pulling on the hunting dog.
When the Hound's father died in a highly suspicious hunting accident, his brother The Mountain inherited the estate.
He then left House Clegane and pledged allegiance directly to House Lannister.
So he must have seen it before.
Joffrey's men didn't dare to ask James directly; they were all waiting expectantly for him to speak.
But the Hound was about the same age as Joffrey at that time, and Tywin treated him like a dog, throwing him a bone to tease him when he had nothing to do, never considering him a family member.
Therefore, he was also unclear about the ins and outs of the matter.
In order to maintain his aloof image, he remained silent in his reply.
"Gold-plated."
But that was enough; everyone had been waiting for this opportunity to flatter him.
They shouted exaggeratedly from behind.
"That's incredible! Even the walls and decor are plated with a layer of gold; how much gold must have been used!"
"The Lannisters certainly have an endless supply of gold."
"Castlerock truly lives up to its reputation as the formidable fortress of the Westerlands!"
"It seems Lord Tywin's—"
The quick-tongued one thankfully swallowed the second half of his sentence before entering the dungeon.
It seems Lord Tywin's butt has never stopped moving.
Joffrey silently added the second half of the sentence in his mind.
This Baron looks very serious, but he's actually quite a sly guy behind the scenes.
At a private banquet, when Giles toasted the king, he casually remarked, "Then we'll need two glasses."
Stannis had just become king at this time and was preparing to attack King's Landing.
Varys, who was alive and well at the time and working very hard, reported the matter to Joffrey.
However, such words are harmless; what Jaime and the Hound say is truly excessive.
That being said, these three were already the generals he trusted most.
Brainless, grumpy, and with a lot of ambition.
Speaking of which, how about we find a place like Taoyuan and get them to become sworn brothers? Let's just go down in that order.
Joffrey is a bit too senior, so I won't condescend to join in. I'll just leave him the nominal boss position.
After entering the hall, there was drinking and eating, and everyone took turns toasting each other.
Although he wasn't drunk, Joffrey was definitely intoxicated.
This bad habit must be corrected when you go back.
The banners of the western lords were hung along the walls, for news of Tywin's invitation to the king had spread, and most of the nobles had rushed over on horseback.
They were busy taking hits during the war, and now they were just waiting to see what kind of compensation their duke could squeeze out of the king.
Joffrey and Tywin simply sat on the high platform, under the banners of the Crowned Stag and the Roaring Lion, chatting amiably about family matters, without mentioning a word about official business.
Because everything that needed to be discussed had already been discussed.
House Oakhurst of Old Oak has a Kingsguard in King's Landing, Ser Alex, and the city was also conquered by the King of Casterly Rock in history.
Red Lake City is to the north, and Joffrey, for the sake of making the map look better, also made it a vassal of the West.
However, the lands of the Clyne family cannot be taken away and granted to the new family.
But in this way, Tywin gets all the benefits, and the lords of the Westerlands will definitely need to compensate him.
Tywin will handle this himself.
He agreed readily, and his expression was very good.
Nothing strange about it; Joffrey gave him the broken heart.
Valyrian steel swords are extremely rare; Tywin Lannister spent decades trying to acquire one without success.
Joffrey wasn't heartbroken; this was something he had promised Randyll, relinquishing the lands of Hornhill and allowing his son Dickon to inherit all the power in exchange for it.
However, giving it to Tywin is essentially the same as giving it to Jaime.
And James's is equivalent to Joffrey's.
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