Ⅱ 列王的纷争 Chapter3 提利昂

TYRION

曼登·穆尔爵士一身御林铁卫的雪白制服，活像一具裹布的尸体。“太后有令：会议途中不得打扰。”

In the chilly white raiment of the Kingsguard, Ser Mandon Moore looked like a corpse in a shroud. “Her Grace left orders, the council in session is not to be disturbed.”

“爵士先生，我不过就一桩小事，”提利昂从袖子里取出羊皮纸。“这是我父亲泰温·兰尼斯特，也就是当今首相写的信，上面有他的印章。”

“I would be only a small disturbance, ser.” Tyrion slid the parchment from his sleeve. “I bear a letter from my father, Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King. There is his seal.”

“太后不希望有人打扰。”曼登爵士慢条斯理地重复一遍，彷佛当提利昂是蠢蛋，听不懂他刚才说的话。

“Her Grace does not wish to be disturbed,” Ser Mandon repeated slowly, as if Tyrion were a dullard who had not heard him the first time.

詹姆曾说，御林铁卫中最危险的角色非穆尔莫属——当然，除了他自己——因为这家伙面无表情，谁也料不透他心中的打算。提利昂此刻真想从他脸上看出一点端倪。倘若真要刀剑相向，此人当然不是波隆和提魅的对手，但刚一上任就宰了乔佛里的护卫，以后怎么得了？但话说回来，假如就这么让他得逞，自己还有何权威可言？于是他逼自己露出微笑。“曼登爵士，我想您一定还没见过我的伙伴。这位是提魅之子提魅，他是明月山脉灼人部的‘红手’将军。这位则是波隆，您应该还记得艾林大人的侍卫队长瓦狄斯·伊根爵士吧？”

Jaime had once told him that Moore was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard—excepting himself, always—because his face gave no hint as what he might do next. Tyrion would have welcomed a hint. Bronn and Timett could likely kill the knight if it came to swords, but it would scarcely bode well if he began by slaying one of Joffrey’s protectors. Yet if he let the man turn him away, where was his authority? He made himself smile. “Ser Mandon, you have not met my companions. This is Timett son of Timett, a red hand of the Burned Men. And this is Bronn. Perchance you recall Ser Vardis Egen, who was captain of Lord Arryn’s household guard?”

“这人我知道。”曼登爵士眼色浅灰，目光异常呆滞，毫无生气。

“I know the man.” Ser Mandon’s eyes were pale grey, oddly flat and lifeless.

“你知道的他，已经不存在了。”波隆浅浅一笑，出声纠正。

“Knew,” Bronn corrected with a thin smile.

曼登爵士彷佛充耳不闻。

Ser Mandon did not deign to show that he had heard that.

“总之呢，”提利昂轻快地说，“我真的想见见我那好姐姐，顺便把这封信传进去，爵士先生，可否请您行行好，帮我们开个门？”

“Be that as it may,” Tyrion said lightly, “I truly must see my sister and present my letter, ser. If you would be so kind as to open the door for us?”

白骑士无动于衷。就在提利昂忍无可忍，打算来硬的的时候，曼登爵士突然往旁边一站。“你可以进去，但他们不行。”

The white knight did not respond. Tyrion was almost at the point of trying to force his way past when Ser Mandon abruptly stood aside. “You may enter. They may not.”

虽然只是小小的胜利，果实却依旧甜美，他心想。他已经通过了第一道测验。提利昂·兰尼斯特推开门，走进大厅，顿时觉得自己高大起来。原本正在讨论国事的五位重臣见状纷纷停下。“是你！”姐姐瑟曦的语气中一半是难以置信，另一半则是极度嫌恶。

A small victory, he thought, but sweet. He had passed his first test. Tyrion Lannister shouldered through the door, feeling almost tall. Five members of the king’s small council broke off their discussion suddenly. “You,” his sister Cersei said in a tone that was equal parts disbelief and distaste.

“我总算知道乔佛里的好礼貌是从哪儿学来的了。”提利昂停下脚步，欣赏一左一右把守大门的两只瓦雷利亚狮身人面兽雕像，流露出全然的自信。瑟曦对虚弱极为敏感，就像狗儿可以嗅出恐惧。

“I can see where Joffrey learned his courtesies.” Tyrion paused to admire the pair of Valyrian sphinxes that guarded the door, affecting an air of casual confidence. Cersei could smell weakness the way a dog smells fear.

“你来这里做什么？”姐姐用那双漂亮碧眼审视着他，不带一丝感情。

“What are you doing here?” His sister’s lovely green eyes studied him without the least hint of affection.

“帮咱们亲爱的父亲大人送信啰。”他晃悠悠地走到议事桌边，把卷得紧紧的羊皮纸放在两人中间。

“Delivering a letter from our lord father.” He sauntered to the table and placed the tightly rolled parchment between them.

太监瓦里斯伸出那双洒了脂粉的纤纤玉手，拿起信在手中把玩。“泰温大人实在太周到了，连封蜡都像黄澄澄的金子。”瓦里斯仔细检查封印。“不论从哪方面看，都像是真的。”

The eunuch Varys took the letter and turned it in his delicate powdered hands. “How kind of Lord Tywin. And his sealing wax is such a lovely shade of gold.” Varys gave the seal a close inspection. “It gives every appearance of being genuine.”

“当然是真的。”瑟曦一把抢过，揭起封蜡，展开信纸。

“Of course it’s genuine.” Cersei snatched it out of his hands. She broke the wax and unrolled the parchment.

提利昂看着她读信。此刻姐姐大大方方地端坐于王位之上——他推测乔佛里大概也和劳勃一样，甚少出席御前会议——既然如此，提利昂便也当仁不让，爬上了首相的位子。

Tyrion watched her read. His sister had taken the king’s seat for herself—he gathered Joffrey did not often trouble to attend council meetings, no more than Robert had—so Tyrion climbed up into the Hand’s chair. It seemed only appropriate.

“真是岂有此理！”最后太后总算开口，“家父派我弟弟入宫接管他的职务，他叮嘱我们视提利昂为国王之手，直到他能亲自上朝辅政为止。”

“This is absurd,” the queen said at last. “My lord father has sent my brother to sit in his place in this council. He bids us accept Tyrion as the Hand of the King, until such time as he himself can join us.”

派席尔大学士捻捻他瀑布般的白胡须，若有所思地点头道：“如此说来，我们得正式欢迎他了。”

Grand Maester Pycelle stroked his flowing white beard and nodded ponderously. “It would seem that a welcome is in order.”

“正是，”杰诺斯·史林特是个双下巴，头顶几乎全秃，看起来活像只青蛙，一只一朝得势，自命不凡的青蛙。“大人，我们正需要您。眼下叛乱四起，天际又有凶象，城里大街小巷都在暴动……”

“Indeed.” Jowly, balding Janos Slynt looked rather like a frog, a smug frog who had gotten rather above himself. “We have sore need of you, my lord. Rebellion everywhere, this grim omen in the sky, rioting in the city streets …”

“杰诺斯大人，敢问这是谁的错？”瑟曦厉声道，“该由你手下的金袍卫士负起维持秩序的责任。至于你，提利昂，你上战场杀敌想必对我们更有帮助。”

“And whose fault is that, Lord Janos?” Cersei lashed out. “Your gold cloaks are charged with keeping order. As to you, Tyrion, you could better serve us on the field of battle.”

他笑了，“不不不，我杀敌杀够了，还是敬谢不敏的好。坐椅子，总比骑马安稳得多，更何况我宁愿端酒杯，也不要拿战斧。不是都说战场上鼓声雷动，金甲夺目，马鸣萧萧吗？唉，战鼓敲得我头疼，穿盔甲都快被太阳烤焦，简直跟丰收宴会上的烤鹅没两样，至于马嘛，它们就知道四处拉屎！不过呢，我也不该抱怨，跟在艾林谷受到的盛情款待相比，鼓声、马粪和苍蝇已经没话说啦。”

He laughed. “No, I’m done with fields of battle, thank you. I sit a chair better than a horse, and I’d sooner hold a wine goblet than a battle-axe. All that about the thunder of the drums, sunlight flashing on armor, magnificent destriers snorting and prancing? Well, the drums gave me headaches, the sunlight flashing on my armor cooked me up like a harvest day goose, and those magnificent destriers shit everywhere. Not that I am complaining. Compared to the hospitality I enjoyed in the Vale of Arryn, drums, horseshit, and fly bites are my favorite things.”

他毕竟是在打仗嘛小指头哈哈大笑：“说得好，兰尼斯特大人，您这番话真是深得我心。”

Littlefinger laughed. “Well said, Lannister. A man after my own heart.”

提利昂对他微微一笑，心中想起了某把龙骨刀柄、瓦雷利亚钢刀身的匕首。咱们得尽快找个时间谈谈这事。到时不知培提尔伯爵还会不会觉得有趣。“所以，”他对众人说，“还请各位务必容我效劳，即便微不足道的小事也好。”

Tyrion smiled at him, remembering a certain dagger with a dragonbone hilt and a Valyrian steel blade. We must have a talk about that, and soon. He wondered if Lord Petyr would find that subject amusing as well. “Please,” he told them, “do let me be of service, in whatever small way I can.”

瑟曦把信又读过一遍。“你带来多少人？”

Cersei read the letter again. “How many men have you brought with you?”

“总有几百个吧，多半是我自己的人。老爸说什么也不肯抽调人手，怎么说，他毕竟是在打仗嘛。”

“A few hundred. My own men, chiefly. Father was loath to part with any of his. He is fighting a war, after all.”

“倘若蓝礼兵临城下，或者史坦尼斯从龙石岛渡海攻来，你这几百人有什么用？我要的是一支军队，父亲却送来一个侏儒。首相由国王选择，经重臣同意后方能任命。乔佛里任命的是我们父亲大人。”

“What use will your few hundred men be if Renly marches on the city, or Stannis sails from Dragonstone? I ask for an army and my father sends me a dwarf. The king names the Hand, with the consent of council. Joffrey named our lord father.”

“而父亲大人任命了我。”

“And our lord father named me.”

“他无权这么做，除非得到小乔的同意。”

“He cannot do that. Not without Joff’s consent.”

“你想亲口质问他的话，泰温大人此刻正率军驻扎于赫伦堡。”提利昂彬彬有礼地说，“诸位大人，可否容我和姐姐私下说几句？”

“Lord Tywin is at Harrenhal with his host, if you’d care to take it up with him,” Tyrion said politely. “My lords, perchance you would permit me a private word with my sister?”

瓦里斯滑溜地站起来，露出那一贯阿谀谄媚的笑容。“令姐甜美的声调想必让您倍感思念。诸位大人，我们就让他们小聚片刻如何？这动荡不安的国事待会儿再来处理也不迟嘛。”

Varys slithered to his feet, smiling in that unctuous way he had. “How you must have yearned for the sound of your sweet sister’s voice. My lords, please, let us give them a few moments together. The woes of our troubled realm shall keep.”

虽然杰诺斯·史林特动作有些迟疑，派席尔大学士则步履蹒跚，但他们到底是起身了。小指头是最后站起来的。“我是不是这就去请总管在梅葛楼里为您收拾几个房间？”

Janos Slynt rose hesitantly and Grand Maester Pycelle ponderously, yet they rose. Littlefinger was the last. “Shall I tell the steward to prepare chambers in Maegor’s Holdfast?”

“培提尔大人，感谢您的好意，不过我要住首相塔里史塔克大人先前的居所。” 艾莉亚愤恨不平地照办后，他又说：“站到那里，靠着那棵橡树。对，就这样。”她双臂环住树干，脸颊紧贴粗糙的树皮。“你叫吧，你给我大声叫。”

“My thanks, Lord Petyr, but I will be taking Lord Stark’s former quarters in the Tower of the Hand.”

小指头笑道：“兰尼斯特大人，您胆子可比我大多了。您总该知道咱们前两任首相的下场吧？”

Littlefinger laughed. “You’re a braver man than me, Lannister. You do know the fate of our last two Hands?”

“两任？你想吓唬我，为何不干脆说四任？”

“Two? If you mean to frighten me, why not say four?”

“四任么？”小指头眉毛一扬。“难道艾林大人之前的两位首相也在塔里遭遇不测？恐怕我当时年纪还小，没有多加留意。”

“Four?” Littlefinger raised an eyebrow. “Did the Hands before Lord Arryn meet some dire end in the Tower? I’m afraid I was too young to pay them much mind.”

“伊里斯·坦格利安的最后一任首相在君临城陷时被杀，我怀疑他根本还来不及搬进塔里，前后不过只当了十四天的首相。他之前那位呢，则是被活活烧死。再往前嘛，有两位被剥夺了领地和头衔，死于流放途中，死时身无长物，一贫如洗，还自觉走运呢。我相信家父是最后一位从君临全身而退的首相。”

“Aerys Targaryen’s last Hand was killed during the Sack of King’s Landing, though I doubt he’d had time to settle into the Tower. He was only Hand for a fortnight. The one before him was burned to death. And before them came two others who died landless and penniless in exile, and counted themselves lucky. I believe my lord father was the last Hand to depart King’s Landing with his name, properties, and parts all intact.”

“真有意思。”小指头道，“我越听越觉得睡地牢比较安全。”

“Fascinating,” said Littlefinger. “And all the more reason I’d sooner bed down in the dungeon.”

说不定你会如愿以偿哟，提利昂心想，但他嘴上却说：“我听说勇气和愚蠢往往只有一线之隔。无论首相塔到底受了什么诅咒，但愿我这小个子可以逃过它的魔掌。”

Perhaps you’ll get that wish, Tyrion thought, but he said, “Courage and folly are cousins, or so I’ve heard. Whatever curse may linger over the Tower of the Hand, I pray I’m small enough to escape its notice.”

杰诺斯·史林特哈哈大笑，小指头嘴角微扬，派席尔大学士则面色凝重地点点头，随两人出去了。

Janos Slynt laughed, Littlefinger smiled, and Grand Maester Pycelle followed them both out, bowing gravely.

“父亲大老远派你来，希望不是让你来给我们上历史课。”旁人离去后，姐姐开口嚷道。

“I hope Father did not send you all this way to plague us with history lessons,” his sister said when they were alone.

“你不知道我有多思念你那甜美的声调。”提利昂对她叹道。

“How I have yearned for the sound of your sweet voice,” Tyrion sighed to her.

“你不知道我有多想用滚烫的钳子把那太监的舌头拔出来。”瑟曦回击。“父亲昏了头不成？还是说信是你伪造的？”她把信又读一次，越看越气恼。“他为什么把你丢给我？我要他本人过来。”她握拳揉烂泰温公爵的信。“我是乔佛里的摄政太后，我对他下达了王家谕令！”

“How I have yearned to have that eunuch’s tongue pulled out with hot pincers,” Cersei replied. “Has father lost his senses? Or did you forge this letter?” She read it once more, with mounting annoyance. “Why would he inflict you on me? I wanted him to come himself.” She crushed Lord Tywin’s letter in her fingers. “I am Joffrey’s regent, and I sent him a royal command!”

“结果他不理你，”提利昂指出，“他重兵在握，自然有恃无恐。反正他也不是第一个违抗你的人，对吧？”

“And he ignored you,” Tyrion pointed out. “He has quite a large army, he can do that. Nor is he the first. Is he?”

瑟曦嘴唇一抿，面露怒色。“假如我说这封信是假的，叫他们把你扔进地牢，我保证，没人敢违抗我。”

Cersei’s mouth tightened. He could see her color rising. “If I name this letter a forgery and tell them to throw you in a dungeon, no one will ignore that, I promise you.”

提利昂很清楚自己此刻如履薄冰，稍有失足，便会万劫不复。“的确，”他亲切地赞同，“尤其是我们那握有大军的父亲。可是，我亲爱的好姐姐，我这么千里迢迢，不辞辛劳跑来帮你的忙，你何苦把我扔进地牢里呢？”

He was walking on rotten ice now, Tyrion knew. One false step and he would plunge through. “No one,” he agreed amiably, “least of all our father. The one with the army. But why should you want to throw me into a dungeon, sweet sister, when I’ve come all this long way to help you?”

“我不要你来帮倒忙，我只命令父亲奉旨上朝。”

“I do not require your help. It was our father’s presence that I commanded.”

“是么？”他平静地说，“你想要的是詹姆。”

“Yes,” he said quietly, “but it’s Jaime you want.”

姐姐自以为精明老练，然而提利昂自小与她一同长大，早把她的个性摸得一清二楚，读她脸上的表情就跟读自己喜爱的书一样容易，此刻他读出的是愤怒，恐惧，还有绝望。“詹姆他——”

His sister fancied herself subtle, but he had grown up with her. He could read her face like one of his favorite books, and what he read now was rage, and fear, and despair. “Jaime—”

“——再怎么说，也是我哥哥。”提利昂打断她。“只要你支持我，我向你保证，我会让詹姆平安归来，毫发无伤。”

“—is my brother no less than yours,” Tyrion interrupted. “Give me your support and I promise you, we will have Jaime freed and returned to us unharmed.”

“这怎么可能？”瑟曦质问，“史塔克家那小鬼跟他娘可不会忘记我们砍了艾德大人的头。”

“How?” Cersei demanded. “The Stark boy and his mother are not like to forget that we beheaded Lord Eddard.”

“的确，”提利昂同意，“可你手上依旧握有他两个女儿，对吧？我看见那个姐姐和乔佛里一起在广场上。”

“True,” Tyrion agreed, “yet you still hold his daughters, don’t you? I saw the older girl out in the yard with Joffrey.”

“那是珊莎，”太后说，“我对外宣称她妹妹那个野东西也在我手上，但事实并非如此。劳勃死的时候，我派马林·特兰爵士去抓她，可她那该死的舞蹈老师从中作梗，她便藉机脱逃，此后再没人见过。那天城里死了很多人，我看她八成也没命了。”

“Sansa,” the queen said. “I’ve given it out that I have the younger brat as well, but it’s a lie. I sent Meryn Trant to take her in hand when Robert died, but her wretched dancing master interfered and the girl fled. No one has seen her since. Likely she’s dead. A great many people died that day.”

提利昂原本打算以两个史塔克女孩作为交换筹码，如今只剩一个，也只好将就。“跟我说说，咱们这几位重臣朋友是怎么回事。”

Tyrion had hoped for both Stark girls, but he supposed one would have to do. “Tell me about our friends on the council.”

姐姐朝大门口瞄了一眼。“他们怎么了？”

His sister glanced at the door. “What of them?”

“父亲似乎不喜欢他们。我动身时，他还说：如果把这几个家伙的头砍下来，插上枪尖，跟史塔克大人的首级并排挂在城墙上，不知是什么光景。”他朝桌子对面倾身。“你肯定他们靠得住吗？你信任他们吗？”

“Father seems to have taken a dislike to them. When I left him, he was wondering how their heads might look on the wall beside Lord Stark’s.” He leaned forward across the table. “Are you certain of their loyalty? Do you trust them?”

“我谁也不信，”瑟曦斥道，“但我需要他们。父亲认为他们心怀不轨？”

“I trust no one,” Cersei snapped. “I need them. Does Father believe they are playing us false?”

“不妨说，他是这么怀疑吧。”

“Suspects, rather.”

“凭什么？他知道什么内情？”

“Why? What does he know?”

提利昂耸耸肩。“他知道你儿子虽然才当国王没几天，闯出的祸却已经多得数不完，由此可见，一定有人把乔佛里给教坏了。”

Tyrion shrugged. “He knows that your son’s short reign has been a long parade of follies and disasters. That suggests that someone is giving Joffrey some very bad counsel.”

瑟曦审视了他一眼。“小乔不缺忠言良见，可他性子本就固执，现在当了国王，更觉得自己应该随心所欲，不要任人摆布。”

Cersei gave him a searching look. “Joff has had no lack of good counsel. He’s always been strong-willed. Now that he’s king, he believes he should do as he pleases, not as he’s bid.”

“任谁戴了王冠，脑筋都会不清楚。”提利昂表示同意。“艾德·史塔克这件事……真是乔佛里的意思？”

“Crowns do queer things to the heads beneath them,” Tyrion agreed. “This business with Eddard Stark … Joffrey’s work?”

太后皱眉道：“我仔细叮嘱过他，按计划他本该网开一面，让史塔克穿上黑衣。如此一来，不但永绝后患，和他儿子议和也不是没有可能。结果乔佛里认为自己有责任让观众看场好戏，我能怎么办？他当着全城居民的面说要砍艾德大人的头，杰诺斯·史林特和伊林爵士更是急不可奈，乐得照办，完全没过问我一声！”她握紧拳头。“这会儿总主教骂我们先是瞒着他，接着又用鲜血玷污贝勒大圣堂。”

The queen grimaced. “He was instructed to pardon Stark, to allow him to take the black. The man would have been out of our way forever, and we might have made peace with that son of his, but Joff took it upon himself to give the mob a better show. What was I to do? He called for Lord Eddard’s head in front of half the city. And Janos Slynt and Ser Ilyn went ahead blithely and shortened the man without a word from me!” Her hand tightened into a fist. “The High Septon claims we profaned Baelor’s Sept with blood, after lying to him about our intent.”

“没错，”提利昂道，“这么说来，这位史林特‘大人’有分啰？告诉我，究竟谁出了这么个妙主意，把赫伦堡封给他，又任命他为朝廷重臣？”

“It would seem he has a point,” said Tyrion. “So this Lord Slynt, he was part of it, was he? Tell me, whose fine notion was it to grant him Harrenhal and name him to the council?”

“小指头安排的。我们需要史林特的金袍军。当时艾德·史塔克正与蓝礼密谋夺权，他还写信给史坦尼斯，表示愿将王位拱手让渡。我们差点就要全盘皆输。现在看来，虽然化险为夷，却也赢得惊险，若非珊莎跑来找我，说出她父亲的计划……”

“Littlefinger made the arrangements. We needed Slynt’s gold cloaks. Eddard Stark was plotting with Renly and he’d written to Lord Stannis, offering him the throne. We might have lost all. Even so, it was a close thing. If Sansa hadn’t come to me and told me all her father’s plans …”

提利昂大感意外。“真的？是他亲生女儿说的？”珊莎一直是个温柔有礼的好孩子啊。

Tyrion was surprised. “Truly? His own daughter?” Sansa had always seemed such a sweet child, tender and courteous.

“这小丫头情窦初开，只盼能和乔佛里在一起，叫她做什么都愿意。没料到他竟然砍了她父亲的头，还把这称为‘手下留情’，这下她的爱情梦可破灭了。”

“The girl was wet with love. She would have done anything for Joffrey, until he cut off her father’s head and called it mercy. That put an end to that.”

“哈，陛下他赢得爱戴的方式可真是独树一帜。”提利昂咧嘴笑道，“将巴利斯坦·赛尔弥爵士从御林铁卫中革职，想必也是乔佛里的意思啰？”

“His Grace has a unique way of winning the hearts of his subjects,” Tyrion said with a crooked smile. “Was it Joffrey’s wish to dismiss Ser Barristan Selmy from his Kingsguard too?”

瑟曦叹道：“乔佛里想找人为劳勃的死负责，瓦里斯便提议拿巴利斯坦爵士开刀，这也没什么不好，一方面，詹姆得以指挥御林铁卫，并跻身朝廷重臣，另一方面，小乔也有了喂狗的骨头。他很喜欢桑铎·克里冈。我们本打算赏给赛尔弥一点封地，一座塔堡，那一无是处的老头子本不配这种待遇。”

Cersei sighed. “Joff wanted someone to blame for Robert’s death. Varys suggested Ser Barristan. Why not? It gave Jaime command of the Kingsguard and a seat on the small council, and allowed Joff to throw a bone to his dog. He is very fond of Sandor Clegane. We were prepared to offer Selmy some land and a towerhouse, more than the useless old fool deserved.”

“我听说史林特手下两个金袍子想在烂泥门逮捕他，结果被这一无是处的老头子给宰了。”

“I hear that useless old fool slew two of Slynt’s gold cloaks when they tried to seize him at the Mud Gate.”

姐姐一脸不悦，“杰诺斯该多派些人去，他的办事能力实在不如预期。”

His sister looked very unhappy. “Janos should have sent more men. He is not as competent as might be wished.”

“巴利斯坦·赛尔弥爵士是劳勃·拜拉席恩的御林铁卫队长，”提利昂刻意提醒她，“当初伊里斯·坦格利安的七铁卫中，只有他和詹姆存活在世。老百姓说起他，就像‘镜盾’萨文和‘龙骑士’伊蒙王子再世一般。倘若他们看到‘无畏的’巴利斯坦与罗柏·史塔克或史坦尼斯·拜拉席恩并肩作战，你觉得他们会作何感想？”

“Ser Barristan was the Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon’s Kingsguard,” Tyrion reminded her pointedly. “He and Jaime are the only survivors of Aerys Targaryen’s seven. The smallfolk talk of him in the same way they talk of Serwyn of the Mirror Shield and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. What do you imagine they’ll think when they see Barristan the Bold riding beside Robb Stark or Stannis Baratheon?”

瑟曦别过头去，“我没想到这一层。”

Cersei glanced away. “I had not considered that.”

“父亲却想到了，”提利昂道，“所以才派我来，终止这些荒唐闹剧，让你儿子乖乖听话。”

“Father did,” said Tyrion. “That is why he sent me. To put an end to these follies and bring your son to heel.”

“小乔连我的话也不爱听，他更不会听你的。”

“Joff will be no more tractable for you than for me.”

“这可未必。”

“He might.”

“他为什么要听你的？”

“Why should he?”

“因为他知道你绝不会伤害他。”

“He knows you would never hurt him.”

瑟曦眯起双眼，“如果你认为我会任由你欺负我儿子，那你就是病得无可救药了。”

Cersei’s eyes narrowed. “If you believe I’d ever allow you to harm my son, you’re sick with fever.”

提利昂叹了口气，像以前一样，她完全抓不住重点。“乔佛里跟着我就和跟着你一样安全，”他向她保证，“但如果让他感觉到威胁，就会比较容易听话。”他执起她的手。“再怎么说，我们毕竟姐弟一场，不管你承不承认，你的确需要我；你儿子想要保住那张丑陋的铁椅子，他也需要我。”

Tyrion sighed. She’d missed the point, as she did so often. “Joffrey is as safe with me as he is with you,” he assured her, “but so long as the boy feels threatened, he’ll be more inclined to listen.” He took her hand. “I am your brother, you know. You need me, whether you care to admit it or no. Your son needs me, if he’s to have a hope of retaining that ugly iron chair.”

对于他竟然出手碰她，姐姐似乎大感惊讶。“你向来很机灵。”

His sister seemed shocked that he would touch her. “You have always been cunning.”

“不过就是一点小聪明嘛。”他嘻嘻笑道。

“In my own small way.” He grinned.

“这么说来，倒是值得一试……不过，提利昂，你可别搞错，我接纳你，但你只是名义上的御前首相，实际上是我的首相。你采取任何行动之前，都必须把计划和意图事先同我商量。未经我的同意，不得擅自行动，清楚了吗？”

“It may be worth the trying … but make no mistake, Tyrion. If I accept you, you shall be the King’s Hand in name, but my Hand in truth. You will share all your plans and intentions with me before you act, and you will do nothing without my consent. Do you understand?”

“哎，一清二楚。”

“Oh, yes.”

“你同意吗？”

“Do you agree?”

“那当然啰，”他撒个谎，“亲爱的姐姐，我任你差遣。”但只在我需要的时候。“好啦，现在既然我们目标一致，彼此就不该再有秘密。你说乔佛里下令杀害艾德大人，瓦里斯赶走巴利斯坦，小指头找来史林特大人，那么琼恩·艾林又是谁杀的？”

“Certainly,” he lied. “I am yours, sister.” For as long as I need to be. “So, now that we are of one purpose, we ought have no more secrets between us. You say Joffrey had Lord Eddard killed, Varys dismissed Ser Barristan, and Littlefinger gifted us with Lord Slynt. Who murdered Jon Arryn?”

瑟曦抽回手。“我怎知道？”

Cersei yanked her hand back. “How should I know?”

“鹰巢城里那个伤心的寡妇似乎认为是我下的手，我实在不明白，她如何得出这个结论？”

“The grieving widow in the Eyrie seems to think it was me. Where did she come by that notion, I wonder?”

“你想找明白人，那也绝不是我。艾德·史塔克这蠢才把同样的罪名扣到我头上，他暗示艾林大人怀疑……唉，或者说坚信……”

“I’m sure I don’t know. That fool Eddard Stark accused me of the same thing. He hinted that Lord Arryn suspected or … well, believed …”

“你和咱们的好詹姆相亲相爱？”

“That you were fucking our sweet Jaime?”

她甩了他一记耳光。

She slapped him.

“你以为我和老爸一样瞎了眼？”提利昂揉揉脸颊，“你和谁上床不干我的事……只是你对一个弟弟张开双腿，却不肯对另一个比照办理，这好像不太公平哟。”

“Did you think I was as blind as Father?” Tyrion rubbed his cheek. “Who you lie with is no matter to me … although it doesn’t seem quite just that you should open your legs for one brother and not the other.”

她又甩了他一记耳光。

She slapped him.

“温柔点，瑟曦，我不过开开玩笑。说实话，我还宁愿找个漂亮的妓女玩玩。我真不明白，除了能欣赏自己的倒影，詹姆究竟看上你哪一点。”

“Be gentle, Cersei, I’m only jesting with you. If truth be told, I’d sooner have a nice whore. I never understood what Jaime saw in you, apart from his own reflection.”

她再甩他一记耳光。

She slapped him.

虽然两颊发红，火辣作痛，他还是微笑道：“你再打下去，我可会生气喔。”

His cheeks were red and burning, yet he smiled. “If you keep doing that, I may get angry.”

这话教她住了手。“你想怎样？”

That stayed her hand. “Why should I care if you do?”

“我有好些个新朋友，”提利昂说，“你绝不会喜欢。你是怎么杀掉劳勃的？”

“I have some new friends,” Tyrion confessed. “You won’t like them at all. How did you kill Robert?”

听说街上挺危险哪“那是他自找的，我们只是送他早点上路。蓝赛尔一见劳勃紧追野猪不放，便拿烈酒给他。那酒虽是他最喜欢的酸红酒，却是加过度的，比平常喝的烈上三倍，结果那酒鬼爱死了。其实只要他有心，什么时候都可以停下来不喝，可他偏偏一袋喝完又叫蓝赛尔再拿一袋。其余的部分让野猪帮我们办成了。提利昂，那场晚宴你真该在场，我这辈子没吃过这么美味的野猪肉——蘑菇和苹果烧的，吃起来满嘴胜利的滋味。”

“He did that himself. All we did was help. When Lancel saw that Robert was going after boar, he gave him strongwine. His favorite sour red, but fortified, three times as potent as he was used to. The great stinking fool loved it. He could have stopped swilling it down anytime he cared to, but no, he drained one skin and told Lancel to fetch another. The boar did the rest. You should have been at the feast, Tyrion. There has never been a boar so delicious. They cooked it with mushrooms and apples, and it tasted like triumph.”

“姐姐，说真的，你实在天生作寡妇的料。”提利昂倒还挺喜欢劳勃·拜拉席恩那粗声粗气的莽汉……毫无疑问，其中部分原因是由于姐姐恨他入骨。“你打够了么，我可要先告辞了。”他扭动双腿，笨拙地从椅子上爬下来。

“Truly, sister, you were born to be a widow.” Tyrion had rather liked Robert Baratheon, great blustering oaf that he was … doubtless in part because his sister loathed him so. “Now, if you are done slapping me, I will be off.” He twisted his legs around and clambered down awkwardly from the chair.

瑟曦皱眉，“不准走。我要知道你打算怎么救出詹姆。”

Cersei frowned. “I haven’t given you leave to depart. I want to know how you intend to free Jaime.”

“等我想明白了，自然会告诉你。计谋就像水果，需要时间酝酿才会成熟。现在嘛，我打算骑马到街上晃晃，熟悉熟悉城里的状况。”提利昂把手放在门边的狮身人面兽头上。“我走之前，还有一事相告。请你无论如何千万别让珊莎·史塔克出岔子，若是两个女儿都保不住，那你的詹姆可就真麻烦了。”

“I’ll tell you when I know. Schemes are like fruit, they require a certain ripening. Right now, I have a mind to ride through the streets and take the measure of this city.” Tyrion rested his hand on the head of the sphinx beside the door. “One parting request. Kindly make certain no harm comes to Sansa Stark. It would not do to lose both the daughters.”

出了议事厅，提利昂向曼登爵士点头致意，穿过长长的拱顶大厅。波隆跟了上来，提魅之子提魅则不见踪影。“咱们的红手将军跑哪儿去啦？”提利昂问。

Outside the council chamber, Tyrion nodded to Ser Mandon and made his way down the long vaulted hall. Bronn fell in beside him. Of Timett son of Timett there was no sign. “Where’s our red hand?” Tyrion asked.

“他想四处瞧瞧，他们族里的人不习惯在厅里干等。”

“He felt an urge to explore. His kind was not made for waiting about in halls.”

“希望他别要杀了什么宫中要人才好。”这些提利昂自明月山脉中的聚落带下来的原住民虽以自己的方式誓死效忠于他，却也心高气傲，脾气火爆，一旦有人出言不逊，无论是否有意，他们必定刀剑相向。“想办法把他找到，顺便确定其他人都有地方住有东西吃。我要他们驻在首相塔下的军营里，切记别让总管把石鸦部和月人部放在一起，哦，告诉他，灼人部要有独立的营房。”

“I hope he doesn’t kill anyone important.” The clansmen Tyrion had brought down from their fastnesses in the Mountains of the Moon were loyal in their own fierce way, but they were proud and quarrelsome as well, prone to answer insults real or imagined with steel. “Try to find him. And while you are at it, see that the rest have been quartered and fed. I want them in the barracks beneath the Tower of the Hand, but don’t let the steward put the Stone Crows near the Moon Brothers, and tell him the Burned Men must have a hall all to themselves.”

“你上哪儿去？”

“Where will you be?”

“我回破铁砧。”

“I’m riding back to the Broken Anvil.”

波隆肆无忌惮地嘿嘿笑道：“需不需要护送啊？听说街上挺危险哪。”

Bronn grinned insolently. “Need an escort? The talk is, the streets are dangerous.”

“我会叫上姐姐的侍卫队长，顺便提醒他，我也是不折不扣的兰尼斯特。这家伙大概忘了自己效忠的对象是凯岩城，而非瑟曦或乔佛里。”

“I’ll call upon the captain of my sister’s household guard, and remind him that I am no less a Lannister than she is. He needs to recall that his oath is to Casterly Rock, not to Cersei or Joffrey.”

一小时后，在十来个肩披深红披风，头戴狮纹半盔的兰尼斯特卫士护送下，提利昂骑马出了红堡。由闸门下经过时，他注意到悬挂在城墙上的人头，虽然浸过沥青，却早已腐烂发黑，不堪辨识。“维拉尔队长，”他叫道，“明天以前，将这些头取下来，交静默修女会清洗。”虽然把首级和身体重新配对困难重重，但该做的还是得做。即便战时，有些规矩也必须遵守。

An hour later, Tyrion rode from the Red Keep accompanied by a dozen Lannister guardsmen in crimson cloaks and lion-crested halfhelms. As they passed beneath the portcullis, he noted the heads mounted atop the walls. Black with rot and old tar, they had long since become unrecognizable. “Captain Vylarr,” he called, “I want those taken down on the morrow. Give them to the silent sisters for cleaning.” It would be hell to match them with the bodies, he supposed, yet it must be done. Even in the midst of war, certain decencies needed to be observed.

维拉尔显得犹豫。“陛下说要把叛徒的头挂在城墙上，直到最后三根空枪也插上人头为止。”

Vylarr grew hesitant. “His Grace has told us he wishes the traitors’ heads to remain on the walls until he fills those last three empty spikes there on the end.”

“让我猜猜，一个是罗柏·史塔克，另外两个是史坦尼斯大人和蓝礼大人，对不对？”

“Let me hazard a wild stab. One is for Robb Stark, the others for Lords Stannis and Renly. Would that be right?”

“是的，大人。”

“Yes, my lord.”

“维拉尔，我外甥今年不过十三岁，麻烦你牢牢记住。明天我就要这些头拿下来，否则其中一根空枪就会有东西可挂，你懂我的意思吗，队长？”

“My nephew is thirteen years old today, Vylarr. Try and recall that. I’ll have the heads down on the morrow, or one of those empty spikes may have a different lodger. Do you take my meaning, Captain?”

“是，大人，我会亲自监督。”

“I’ll see that they’re taken down myself, my lord.”

“很好。”提利昂双腿一夹，策马前奔，让后面的红袍卫士自行跟上。

“Good.” Tyrion put his heels into his horse and trotted away, leaving the red cloaks to follow as best they could.

他对瑟曦说打算熟悉一下城里的情形，并不全然是撒谎。提利昂·兰尼斯特一点也不喜欢眼前的景象：君临的街道向来是熙来攘往，人马喧腾，但此刻却充满了他从未见过的危险。纺织街边，一具尸体躺卧水沟，全身赤裸，正被一群野狗撕咬，却无人在意。两两成对的金袍卫士随处可见，他们穿着黑环甲，在大街小巷巡逻，铁棍从不离手。市集里满是衣着破烂，变卖家产的人，有人肯出价他们就卖……却几乎没有卖肉菜的农夫，少数几个摆出食物的摊位要价竟高达一年前的三倍。有个小贩沿街叫卖串在肉叉上的烤老鼠。“新鲜老鼠哪！”他高声喊着，“新鲜老鼠哪！”新鲜的老鼠当然比腐烂的老鼠要可口，可令人心惊的是，那些老鼠看起来竟比屠夫卖的肉更诱人。到了面粉街，提利昂只见家家店门都有守卫站岗，他不禁心想：看来在非常时期，花钱雇佣兵都比面包来得便宜。

He had told Cersei he intended to take the measure of the city. That was not entirely a lie. Tyrion Lannister was not pleased by much of what he saw. The streets of King’s Landing had always been teeming and raucous and noisy, but now they reeked of danger in a way that he did not recall from past visits. A naked corpse sprawled in the gutter near the Street of Looms, being torn at by a pack of feral dogs, yet no one seemed to care. Watchmen were much in evidence, moving in pairs through the alleys in their gold cloaks and shirts of black ringmail, iron cudgels never far from their hands. The markets were crowded with ragged men selling their household goods for any price they could get … and conspicuously empty of farmers selling food. What little produce he did see was three times as costly as it had been a year ago. One peddler was hawking rats roasted on a skewer. “Fresh rats,” he cried loudly, “fresh rats.” Doubtless fresh rats were to be preferred to old stale rotten rats. The frightening thing was, the rats looked more appetizing than most of what the butchers were selling. On the Street of Flour, Tyrion saw guards at every other shop door. When times grew lean, even bakers found sellswords cheaper than bread, he reflected.

“莫非没粮食运进城？”他对维拉尔说。

“There is no food coming in, is there?” he said to Vylarr.

“少得可怜，”侍卫队长承认，“河间地区战事连连，蓝礼大人又在高庭兴兵作乱，西、南两条大路都被封锁了。”

“Little enough,” the captain admitted. “With the war in the riverlands and Lord Renly raising rebels in Highgarden, the roads are closed to south and west.”

“我那亲爱的姐姐有何应对之道？”

“And what has my good sister done about this?”

“她正逐步恢复国内治安，”维拉尔向他保证，“史林特大人将都城守备队的人数增加到以前的三倍，太后则派了一千名工匠兴建防御工事。石匠负责加厚城墙，木匠制作上百的巨弩和投石车，制箭匠忙着造箭，铁匠则锻造刀剑，炼金术士公会也愿意提供一万罐野火。”

“She is taking steps to restore the king’s peace,” Vylarr assured him. “Lord Slynt has tripled the size of the City Watch, and the queen has put a thousand craftsmen to work on our defenses. The stonemasons are strengthening the walls, carpenters are building scorpions and catapults by the hundred, fletchers are making arrows, the smiths are forging blades, and the Alchemists’ Guild has pledged ten thousand jars of wildfire.”

提利昂一听这话，略感不安地在马鞍上动了动。他很高兴瑟曦并未置身事外，但燃烧剂着实不牢靠，一万罐这种东西足以把君临烧成灰烬。“我姐姐哪有钱买这么多？”劳勃国王死后给王室留下巨额债务，这已经不是秘密，而练金术士又绝非大公无私。

Tyrion shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. He was pleased that Cersei had not been idle, but wildfire was treacherous stuff, and ten thousand jars were enough to turn all of King’s Landing into cinders. “Where has my sister found the coin to pay for all of this?” It was no secret that King Robert had left the crown vastly in debt, and alchemists were seldom mistaken for altruists.

“大人，小指头大人总有办法弄到钱。他规定进城的人都得缴税。”

“Lord Littlefinger always finds a way, my lord. He has imposed a tax on those wishing to enter the city.”

“嗯，行之有效，”提利昂嘴上轻描淡写，心里却想：聪明，好个既聪明又残酷的办法。成千上万的人为了躲避战事，纷纷逃往君临，以为这里比较安全。他在国王大道上亲眼见到汹涌人潮：母亲带着小孩，忧虑的父亲则用贪婪的眼神盯着他的坐骑和马车。等这些人抵达城外，一定会散尽家财，换取高耸的城墙以为屏障……但他们若知道野火这回事，或许就会重新考虑。

“Yes, that would work,” Tyrion said, thinking, Clever. Clever and cruel. Tens of thousands had fled the fighting for the supposed safety of King’s Landing. He had seen them on the kingsroad, troupes of mothers and children and anxious fathers who had gazed on his horses and wagons with covetous eyes. Once they reached the city they would doubtless pay over all they had to put those high comforting walls between them and the war … though they might think twice if they knew about the wildfire.

我今晚在此过夜高挂破铁砧招牌的旅店位于城墙的视线范围内，靠近诸神门，他们早上就是从此处进城。一进庭院，便有个小男孩跑来扶提利昂下马。“带你的人回城堡，”他对维拉尔说，“我今晚在此过夜。”

The inn beneath the sign of the broken anvil stood within sight of those walls, near the Gate of the Gods where they had entered that morning. As they rode into its courtyard, a boy ran out to help Tyrion down from his horse. “Take your men back to the castle,” he told Vylarr. “I’ll be spending the night here.”

侍卫队长有些犹豫。“大人，这里安全吗？”

The captain looked dubious. “Will you be safe, my lord?”

“这个嘛，我告诉你，队长，今儿早上我从这里离开时，里面已经住满了黑耳部的山民。跟齐克之女齐拉住在一起，没人能绝对安全。”说完提利昂跛着脚朝大门走去，留下一头雾水的维拉尔。

“Well, as to that, Captain, when I left the inn this morning it was full of Black Ears. One is never quite safe when Chella daughter of Cheyk is about.” Tyrion waddled toward the door, leaving Vylarr to puzzle at his meaning.

他挤进旅店大厅，一阵欢笑便迎面袭来。他认出齐拉的嘶声大笑和雪伊银铃般的轻笑。女孩坐在炉边，正就着一张圆木桌啜饮葡萄酒，身旁是三个他留下来保护她的黑耳部众，还有一个背向他的胖子。他以为是旅店老板……但当雪伊叫出提利昂的名字，来客却立刻起身。“亲爱的大人，真高兴见到你。”太监脸上扑了粉，嘴角挂着一抹温软的微笑，装腔作势地说。

A gust of merriment greeted him as he shoved into the inn’s common room. He recognized Chella’s throaty chuckle and the lighter music of Shae’s laughter. The girl was seated by the hearth, sipping wine at a round wooden table with three of the Black Ears he’d left to guard her and a plump man whose back was to him. The innkeeper, he assumed … until Shae called Tyrion by name and the intruder rose. “My good lord, I am so pleased to see you,” he gushed, a soft eunuch’s smile on his powdered face.

提利昂绊了一跤。“瓦里斯大人？没想到会在这里遇见你。”异鬼把这家伙抓去吧！他怎么这么快就找到他们？

Tyrion stumbled. “Lord Varys. I had not thought to see you here.” The Others take him, how did he find them so quickly?

“如有打扰之处，还请您见谅。”瓦里斯说，“我突然想来瞧瞧您这位年轻小姐。”

“Forgive me if I intrude,” Varys said. “I was taken by a sudden urge to meet your young lady.”

“年轻小姐，”雪伊重复一遍，玩味着这几个字。“大人，您只说对了一半，我只是年轻。”

“Young lady,” Shae repeated, savoring the words. “You’re half right, m’lord. I’m young.”

十八岁，提利昂心想，你才十八岁，还是个妓女，但脑筋转得快，在床上灵活得像只小猫，一双乌黑发亮的大眼睛，一头柔顺滑溜的黑秀发，还有一张又甜又软又饥又渴的小嘴……这都是属于我的！你这太监真可恶！“瓦里斯大人，我看打扰的人是我。”他勉力顾及礼节，“刚才进门时，您似乎正有说有笑。”

Eighteen, Tyrion thought. Eighteen, and a whore, but quick of wit, nimble as a cat between the sheets, with large dark eyes and fine black hair and a sweet, soft, hungry little mouth … and mine! Damn you, eunuch. “I fear I’m the intruder, Lord Varys,” he said with forced courtesy. “When I came in, you were in the midst of some merriment.”

“瓦里斯大人称赞齐拉的耳朵，说她一定杀了很多人，才能得到这么漂亮的项链。”雪伊解释。听她称呼瓦里斯“大人”令他很气恼，因为那是她枕边细语时所用的语气。“但齐拉说杀人的都是懦夫。”

“M’lord Varys complimented Chella on her ears and said she must have killed many men to have such a fine necklace,” Shae explained. It grated on him to hear her call Varys m’lord in that tone; that was what she called him in their pillow play. “And Chella told him only cowards kill the vanquished.”

“勇者会留敌人一命，让他将来有机会洗清耻辱，凭本事赢回耳朵。”齐拉是个皮肤黝黑的瘦小女人，脖子上挂着一条恐怖的项练，提利昂找机会数过，不多不少，足足用四十六只风干起皱的耳朵串连而成。“只有这样，才能证明自己无所畏惧。”

“Braver to leave the man alive, with a chance to cleanse his shame by winning back his ear,” explained Chella, a small dark woman whose grisly neckware was hung with no less than forty-six dried, wrinkled ears. Tyrion had counted them once. “Only so can you prove you do not fear your enemies.”

雪伊笑道：“接着大人又说如果他是黑耳部的人，大概别想睡觉了，否则梦里全都是只剩一只耳的人。”

Shae hooted. “And then m’lord says if he was a Black Ear he’d never sleep, for dreams of one-eared men.”

“我倒没这个困扰，”提利昂说，“我很怕敌人，只好把他们通通杀光。”

“A problem I will never need face,” Tyrion said. “I’m terrified of my enemies, so I kill them all.”

瓦里斯嘻嘻笑道：“大人，您要不要同我们喝两杯？”

Varys giggled. “Will you take some wine with us, my lord?”

“我就喝一点吧。”提利昂在雪伊身边坐下。他很清楚整件事意味着什么，可惜齐拉和女孩似乎不懂。瓦里斯此行是来传达讯息的，他说：“我突然想来瞧瞧您这位年轻小姐”，实际的意思却是：你想把她藏起来，可我不但知道她是谁，还知道她在哪里，现在我不就找上门了？他很纳闷究竟是谁出卖了自己，旅店老板？马厩小厮？城门守卫？还是……他手下的人？

“I’ll take some wine.” Tyrion seated himself beside Shae. He understood what was happening here, if Chella and the girl did not. Varys was delivering a message. When he said, I was taken by a sudden urge to meet your young lady, what he meant was, You tried to hide her, but I knew where she was, and who she was, and here I am. He wondered who had betrayed him. The innkeeper, that boy in the stable, a guard on the gate … or one of his own?

“每次回城啊，我都爱走诸神门。”瓦里斯一边为大家斟酒，一边告诉雪伊，“城门楼雕刻得真漂亮，每回见了都教我掉眼泪。那些眼睛……真是栩栩如生，你说是吧？彷佛注视着你从闸门下走过。”

“I always like to return to the city through the Gate of the Gods,” Varys told Shae as he filled the wine cups. “The carvings on the gatehouse are exquisite, they make me weep each time I see them. The eyes … so expressive, don’t you think? They almost seem to follow you as you ride beneath the portcullis.”

“大人，这我就没留意了，”雪伊回答，“既然您这么说，明儿一早我专门去瞧瞧。”

“I never noticed, m’lord,” Shae replied. “I’ll look again on the morrow, if it please you.”

你就省省力气吧，小宝贝。提利昂一边想，一边晃着杯中的酒。他才不在乎什么狗屁雕刻，他吹嘘的是自己那双眼睛。他话中的意思是：他正密切监视着我们，我们刚一进城，便已被他掌握了动向。

Don’t bother, sweetling, Tyrion thought, swirling the wine in the cup. He cares not a whit about carvings. The eyes he boasts of are his own. What he means is that he was watching, that he knew we were here the moment we passed through the gates.

“出门的话要多留心啊，好孩子，”瓦里斯说，“君临最近不怎么安全。我虽对这里的街巷了若指掌，可要我像今天这样孤身一人，手无寸铁，还差点不敢来呢。唉，眼下时局危殆，法外凶徒四处横行，手中刀剑冰冷，心地更是冷酷无情啊。”这话的意思是：既然我可以孤身一人，手无寸铁地来到这里，其他人当然更可以手提刀剑找上门来啰。

“Do be careful, child,” Varys urged. “King’s Landing is not wholly safe these days. I know these streets well, and yet I almost feared to come today, alone and unarmed as I was. Lawless men are everywhere in this dark time, oh, yes. Men with cold steel and colder hearts.” Where I can come alone and unarmed, others can come with swords in their fists, he was saying.

雪伊却只笑笑，“他们要敢骚扰我，就等着少只耳朵，被齐拉轰出去吧！”

Shae only laughed. “If they try and bother me, they’ll be one ear short when Chella runs them off.”

瓦里斯听了放声怪笑，彷佛这是他这辈子所听过最有趣的事，然而当他转头面对提利昂时，眼中却毫无笑意。“您这位年轻小姐真是和蔼可亲得紧，换作是我，我会非常小心地照顾她。”

Varys hooted as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard, but there was no laughter in his eyes when he turned them on Tyrion. “Your young lady has an amiable way to her. I should take very good care of her if I were you.”

“我正打算这么做。谁要敢对她不利——哎，可怜我个子这么小，实在不够格当黑耳部人，也不好妄称勇敢。”听到了吧？死太监，我也会玩这套，你要是敢动她一根汗毛，我就要你的命。

“I intend to. Any man who tries to harm her—well, I’m too small to be a Black Ear, and I make no claims to courage.” See? I speak the same tongue you do, eunuch. Hurt her, and I’ll have your head.

“我就不打扰你们了。”瓦里斯起身，“大人，我想您一定累坏了，我只想表示欢迎之意，让您知道，我很高兴您回来。朝廷正亟需着您。您看到那颗慧星了没？”

“I will leave you.” Varys rose. “I know how weary you must be. I only wished to welcome you, my lord, and tell you how very pleased I am by your arrival. We have dire need of you on the council. Have you seen the comet?”

“我个子矮，眼睛可没瞎。”提利昂道。在国王大道上，慧星几乎占据了半面天空，完全遮蔽了新月的光芒。

“I’m short, not blind,” Tyrion said. Out on the kingsroad, it had seemed to cover half the sky, outshining the crescent moon.

“街上的老百姓称之为‘红信使’，”瓦里斯道，“他们说这颗慧星宣示着新王现世，并警告随之而来的血与火。”太监搓搓扑过粉的双手，“提利昂大人，我走之前，可否给您猜个谜语？”他没等对方回答，“三位地位显赫之人坐在一个房间，一位是国王，一位是僧侣，最后一位则是富翁。有个佣兵站在他们中间，此人出身寒微，亦无甚才具。每位显赫之人都命令他杀死另外两人。国王说：”我是你合法的君王，我命令你杀了他们。‘僧侣说：“我以天上诸神之名，要求你杀了他们。’富翁则说：”杀了他们，我所有的金银珠宝都给你。‘请告诉我——究竟谁会死，谁会活呢？“说完太监深深一鞠躬，踩着软底拖鞋，匆匆离开旅店大厅。

“In the streets, they call it the Red Messenger,” Varys said. “They say it comes as a herald before a king, to warn of fire and blood to follow.” The eunuch rubbed his powdered hands together. “May I leave you with a bit of a riddle, Lord Tyrion?” He did not wait for an answer. “In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me—who lives and who dies?” Bowing deeply, the eunuch hurried from the common room on soft slippered feet.

活下来的是富翁他离开之后，齐拉哼了一声，雪伊则柳眉一皱，“活下来的是富翁，对不对？”

When he was gone, Chella gave a snort and Shae wrinkled up her pretty face. “The rich man lives. Doesn’t he?”

提利昂若有所思地啜着酒，“可能是，也可能不是，我想得视那个佣兵而定。”他放下酒杯，“走吧，我们上楼。”

Tyrion sipped at his wine, thoughtful. “Perhaps. Or not. That would depend on the sellsword, it seems.” He set down his cup. “Come, let’s go upstairs.”

他们同时起步，可到头来她却得在楼梯顶端等他，因为她那一双腿纤细敏捷，他却是两腿奇短，发育不良，走起路来痛得要命。但当他上楼时，她却笑盈盈地揶揄他：“有没有想我啊？”她边说边牵起他的手。

She had to wait for him at the top of the steps, for her legs were slim and supple while his were short and stunted and full of aches. But she was smiling when he reached her. “Did you miss me?” she teased as she took his hand.

“想得发疯。”提利昂承认。雪伊身高仅略过五尺，但他依旧得抬头仰望……好在看的是她，他倒不在乎，因为她实在太可爱了。

“Desperately,” Tyrion admitted. Shae only stood a shade over five feet, yet still he must look up to her … but in her case he found he did not mind. She was sweet to look up at.

“等您住进红堡，您会一天到晚想我的。”她领他进房，一边说。“尤其是您孤伶伶一个人睡在首相塔冰冷的床上的时候。”

“You’ll miss me all the time in your Red Keep,” she said as she led him to her room. “All alone in your cold bed in your Tower of the Hand.”

“可不是嘛。”提利昂恨不得能带她同去，却被父亲大人明令禁止。泰温公爵很明白地命令他：“不准你带那个妓女入宫”，带她进城已是他违抗的最大限度。她必须了解，他所有的权威都来自于父亲。“你不会离我太远，”他保证，“你会有一栋房子，还有守卫和仆人，我一有机会就来找你。”

“Too true.” Tyrion would gladly have kept her with him, but his lord father had forbidden it. You will not take the whore to court, Lord Tywin had commanded. Bringing her to the city was as much defiance as he dared. All his authority derived from his father, the girl had to understand that. “You won’t be far,” he promised. “You’ll have a house, with guards and servants, and I’ll visit as often as I’m able.”

雪伊把门踢上。透过结雾的窄窗玻璃，他分辨出坐落于维桑尼亚丘陵顶的贝勒大圣堂，但真正吸引提利昂的却是眼前另一番景象。雪伊弯身，抓住外衣裙摆，上拉过头，脱下丢到一旁。她从不穿内衣。“那您可就别想休息啦，”她边说边站到他面前，一手搁在屁股上，浑身赤裸，肌肤粉嫩，委实秀色可餐。“您一上床就想着我，然后硬起来，却没人帮你解决，最后连觉也睡不着，除非——”她露出提利昂最喜欢的邪恶微笑，“——哎哟，我说大人啊，难不成首相塔是手淫塔吗？”

Shae kicked shut the door. Through the cloudy panes of the narrow window, he could make out the Great Sept of Baelor crowning Visenya’s Hill, but Tyrion was distracted by a different sight. Bending, Shae took her gown by the hem, drew it over her head, and tossed it aside. She did not believe in smallclothes. “You’ll never be able to rest,” she said as she stood before him, pink and nude and lovely, one hand braced on her hip. “You’ll think of me every time you go to bed. Then you’ll get hard and you’ll have no one to help you and you’ll never be able to sleep unless you”—she grinned that wicked grin Tyrion liked so well—“is that why they call it the Tower of the Hand, m’lord?”

“把嘴巴闭上，过来亲一个。”他命令她。

“Be quiet and kiss me,” he commanded.

他尝到她唇上余留的酒香，感觉到她小而坚挺的双乳贴上自己胸膛，她灵动的指头朝他裤带移动。“我的狮子，”他暂停接吻，以脱下自己的衣服时，她说，“我亲爱的大人，我的兰尼斯特巨人。”提利昂把她推向床上，当他进入她体内时，她的尖叫声大得足以吵醒坟墓里的圣贝勒，指甲则在他背上留下一道道疤痕，但他觉得没有任何疼痛能比这更愉悦。

He could taste the wine on her lips, and feel her small firm breasts pressed against him as her fingers moved to the lacings of his breeches. “My lion,” she whispered when he broke off the kiss to undress. “My sweet lord, my giant of Lannister.” Tyrion pushed her toward the bed. When he entered her, she screamed loud enough to wake Baelor the Blessed in his tomb, and her nails left gouges in his back. He’d never had a pain he liked half so well.

笨蛋，完事之后，两人躺在凹陷的床垫上，盖着乱成一团的被单，他心里暗想，你这笨蛋侏儒，难道永远也学不乖吗？妈的，她是个婊子，她爱的是你的钱，不是你的老二。你难道忘了泰莎？然而，当他的手指轻轻滑过她一边乳头，乳头立即变硬，他可以清楚地看见自己激情时在她胸部留下的咬痕。

Fool, he thought to himself afterward, as they lay in the center of the sagging mattress amidst the rumpled sheets. Will you never learn, dwarf? She’s a whore, damn you, it’s your coin she loves, not your cock. Remember Tysha? Yet when his fingers trailed lightly over one nipple, it stiffened at the touch, and he could see the mark on her breast where he’d bitten her in his passion.

“大人，如今你成了御前首相，有什么打算呢？”当他捧起那团温暖诱人的软肉，雪伊问。

“So what will you do, m’lord, now that you’re the Hand of the King?” Shae asked him as he cupped that warm sweet flesh.

“我打算做点瑟曦绝对料想不到的事，”提利昂在她粉颈边轻声呢喃，“我要……主持正义。”

“Something Cersei will never expect,” Tyrion murmured softly against her slender neck. “I’ll do … justice.”