Chapter 211: Arrive at High Court
After the end of the long summer, Gaoting, which was originally a green paradise, also put on a light yellow coat.
Led by the servants, Samwell and others passed through the labyrinth garden and three white walls, and entered the interior of the castle.
"Father back?" Margaery Tyrell asked.
"Master hasn\'t come back yet." The servant replied respectfully, "But it should be soon. Yesterday, a knight came back to report that the retreating army has passed the fruit wine hall, and it is estimated that it will arrive in two or three days. The old lady asked me to arrange everyone Your honored guests rest first."
"good."
Samwell could clearly feel the indifference of the Tyrell family. The four great nobles came together, but none of the Tyrell family members came out to greet them.
Of course, this is not a surprise.
Mrs. Olenna must be able to see that these four families are not friendly.
What\'s more, there is Samwell, the kidnapper who eloped with "Highgarden Rose", the Tyrell family may be restrained now.
Fortunately, Margaery acted as a competent "tour guide" along the way, introducing the layout of the castle and the stories behind it to the distinguished guests with a smile, so that the atmosphere would not become too awkward.
After the group settled down, Margaret took Samwell\'s hand and whispered:
"Sam, you guys rest first, I\'m going to see my grandmother and test her attitude."
"Do you need me to accompany you?"
"No, I\'ll come back to you later."
Margaery stood on tiptoe to give a kiss, and then floated away.
She didn\'t go back to the house to change clothes, so she took all the way to find Mrs. Olenna.
The "Queen of Thorns" is drinking tea on a tall and elegant round tower at the moment. From her position, she can see the manor and fields outside the castle for dozens of miles.
Can also clearly see the situation of Samwell and his party entering the city just now.
"Grandmother." Margaery walked up to Mrs. Olenna, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
Mrs. Olenna looked at her favorite granddaughter with an inexplicable gaze, and said:
"Tell me, good granddaughter, why did you choose Caesar?"
"Joffrey Baratheon and Samwell Caesar, choose between these two." Margaery said, "It\'s really not a difficult choice."
Lady Olenna snorted softly: "If you don\'t want to marry Joffrey, you can just refuse it. Why do you want to elope."
"Because I like Sam." A faint blush appeared on Margery\'s face.
"I taught you at a very young age." Madam Olenna had a look of resentment on her face, "Don\'t let your feelings influence your decision."
"I\'m sorry, grandma, I let you down." Margaery lowered her head, her slender eyelashes trembling slightly, "How can people be without feelings. You told me that helping the refugees is just to show a gesture of being close to the people and win their love, But every time I see those ragged, skinny farmers, it still hurts my heart."
"You can have a heartache, but never act irrationally about it. Otherwise it becomes your Achilles\' heel! And once you have a weakness, you are an easy prey in this Game of Thrones."
Margaret bit her lip and retorted: "But benevolence is also a noble character. It may become a weakness, but it will also win the love of the people."
"You think the people are too good, too smart." Mrs. Olenna said coldly, "They are actually even more stupid and unreasonable.
When the gray plague swept through Old Town, it killed nearly half of the people in the city. Count Quinton Hightower ordered the ships in the port to be burned, and the gates of the city were closed tightly to prevent anyone, even members of the Hightower family from leaving the city, so as not to spread the epidemic.
It stands to reason that the nobles and commoners of the Seven Kingdoms should be grateful for the kindness of Earl Quinton, but in fact? Have you heard the bards sing his name?
No.
On the day when the epidemic ended, Earl Quinton took to the streets, trying to celebrate with the people over the catastrophe, but was brutally killed by angry fools.
Instead of being grateful to the hero who saved them, they blamed him for the disaster.
Look, this is what happens to benevolence. "
Margaery fell silent after hearing this.
Mrs. Olenna saw the stubbornness in her granddaughter\'s eyes, sighed secretly, and slowed down her tone:
"Margaery, in this world, strength is the most important thing, and the rest are embellishments. You must recognize this. Don\'t look at the Lannister family as if they are in dire straits, but King\'s Landing is still in their hands. On the throne is Cersei\'s second son Tommen.
Don\'t underestimate Tywin Lannister. This is a figure who has controlled the power of the Seven Kingdoms for twenty years. Neither Ed Stark nor Stannis Baratheon can beat him .
And if we are added, no one can take away the lion\'s throne.
In return, we will also have a Queen.
You tell me, following Samwell Caesar to trouble the Lannisters, what can we get? "
"Dragon." Margaery said in a deep voice, "Grandma, you must have seen it with your own eyes just now, Sam has a white dragon!"
"Yes, I saw it." Madam Olenna curled her lips, "But it\'s only as big as a puppy. How many people can be burned to death?"
"The dragon will grow up."
"But how long will it take? Ten years? Twenty years? Or a hundred years?" Madam Olenna sneered, "And young dragons are the easiest to kill. Back then, a group of mobs in King\'s Landing could rush into the dragon\'s lair, Kill the young dragon inside. Are you sure Samwell\'s one can grow up to the level of Balerion, the Black Death?"
"If Samwell had a \'Black Death\', he wouldn\'t need the support of the Tyrell family." The more Margaery said, the more confident she became, "Grandmother, if we support Lannister, we won\'t need the support of the Queen after we get it." How long can the bit guarantee the prosperity of the family? Ten years? Twenty years?
But if you support Caesar, his heirs and I will be of the blood of the real dragon!
It takes a long time for a dragon to grow, but once it reaches adulthood, it can maintain a deterrent effect for hundreds of years!
This is the real opportunity to push the Tyrell family to the pinnacle of power! "
Ms. Olenna finally showed a gratified smile when she heard this:
"This reason is a decent one."
But then she changed the subject and scolded: "But how did I hear that when you climbed on Caesar\'s horse and decided to elope with him, he hadn\'t hatched the dragon yet?"
Margaret stuck out her tongue, then shook Mrs. Olenna\'s arm, trying to get away with it:
"Grandmother, no matter what, just tell me if my idea is feasible, right? Sam is a knight I handbooked, as long as we support him firmly, he will definitely reward the Tyrell family in the future. Those evil breeds who support the lion family are strong."
"Caesar is indeed more potential." Mrs. Olenna said expressionlessly, "but I think he might not be able to make the dragon grow up. Now that the lion is fighting fiercely with fish, wolf, deer and eagle, of course he can\'t take care of him. But once the two sides decide the outcome, no matter who wins or loses, they will turn around and deal with Caesar!"
Margaret said: "That\'s why we took advantage of the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms to form an alliance with Sam and help him grow stronger."
Ms. Olenna once again showed an expression of hatred for iron and steel:
"Even if you want to form an alliance, you have to distinguish between priorities. Silly girl, what leverage does the Tyrell family have if you send yourself out in such a hurry? And this time Caesar, Tully, Rowan, and Florent came together Gaoting, it is clear that they want to force us to make concessions. Hmph! Is this the attitude a vassal should have towards his lord?"
Margaery tried to explain to the man: "Actually, Samwell was also worried that you would harm him, so he took some self-protective actions. Please rest assured, they really have no intention of presumptuousness."
Madam Olenna snorted lightly: "Do you believe this?"
Margaery stopped talking for a moment.
She was taught by her grandmother since she was a child, and she was also influenced by what she saw and heard in the Duke\'s House. Naturally, she is not a little white rabbit when it comes to power struggles, so when she saw the troops of Brightwater City and Golden Tree City in Horn Hill that day, she immediately understood Samwell\'s plan.
Many times, she actually kept convincing herself that her choice was not wrong.
"Grandmother." After a while, she spoke again, and there seemed to be something different in her tone, "No matter what attitude you and father have, I have already recognized Samwell, even if I can\'t get your blessing, I will Elope with him."
"Stupid!" Madam Olenna trembled with anger, "I have taught you all these years in vain! The nobles who have always been blind for love have not come to a good end! Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark Did you forget about it a few years after you died?"
"I\'m sorry, grandma." Margaery apologized, but her eyes were extremely firm, "Back then, \'King Renrui\' Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne were also blind for love, and their union has been inseparable from the very beginning. Unfavorable, the queen mother, the hand of the king, the archbishop...almost everyone is against, but they still come together bravely.
Facts have proved that their combination has been blessed by the gods, thus jointly creating one of the most glorious prosperity in the Targaryen dynasty. "
Lady Olenna sneered: "Do you know that you are comparing a little baron with the wisest king in the history of House Targaryen?"
"Samwell Caesar will surely become a great king!" Margaery declared proudly, "I will also become a great queen."
Mrs. Olenna stared blankly at the granddaughter in front of her. This girl who had dreamed of becoming a queen since she was a child, at this moment, in the eyes of her grandmother, really had the aura of being a mother.
Madam Olenna suddenly smiled gratifiedly: "Then, are you using your status as a queen to give me orders?"
"Of course not." Margaery threw herself into Mrs. Olenna\'s arms, and turned into that coquettish little girl again, "I beg you as a granddaughter. I beg you to bless me and my beloved knight."
Madam Olenna bowed her head in silence, as if she was still hesitating.
Margaret saw her grandmother\'s struggle, and quickly persuaded again gently: "Grandma, I just ask you to remain neutral in the next dispute, okay?"
"Oh! Neutral?" Mrs. Olenna sneered, "If I don\'t care, is your inflatable fish father able to fight against people like Lando Tully and Matus Rowan?"
"I just think that the Tyrell family should also respect the opinions of the vassals. If there are really too many families who are unwilling to support Lannister, it is not a good thing for us to forcibly violate their wishes. So, let them Make up your own mind, okay?"
Mrs. Olenna narrowed her eyes and said vigilantly: "Is this what they asked you to tell me?"
Margaery shook her head quickly: "No, this is my own idea. You don\'t want the Tyrell family to be isolated and helpless in the Reach, do you? Even if we get the queen, what\'s the point?"
Madam Olenna was silent for a long time, and finally nodded slowly:
"Okay. Then let us listen to the opinions of the nobles of the Reach. Two weeks later, the nobles will gather in High Court and let them decide what to do with the Reach."
"Thank you, grandma!" Margaret cheered, and kissed Madam Olenna\'s cheek again.
Mrs. Olenna hugged her granddaughter tightly, and said:
"Remember, don\'t hand over all your chips at once. Otherwise, what will you use to tie men in the future!"
"Okay." Margaery nodded with a smile, wondering if she had listened to her grandmother\'s advice.
(end of this chapter)