Tyrion was slightly stunned, and he stared at Greene for a while, then suddenly said seriously, "Did you have your eyes on my *** long ago?"
Seeing Greene's look of disgust, Tyrion burst out laughing.
The laughter was a bit exaggerated, and Greene's eyebrows slightly raised, as if... Tyrion's laughter contained some kind of release?
After much effort, Tyrion finally stopped, wiping the corner of his eye with the back of his hand, and said with a grin, "I'm very sorry, I've been in a good mood lately, and I tend to laugh easily."
Greene pursed his lips and smiled, "That's a good thing."
Tyrion lightly coughed, and said with a smile, "Actually, I also want to borrow a few skilled swordsmen from you. The only guards I can trust by my side are my personal squire and Bronn, and what I'm about to do will make many people 'love' me to death."
Greene didn't ask what Tyrion specifically wanted to do. He nodded and said, "I'll have someone arrange it; you can take them when you leave."
Tyrion raised his cup in salute, "You are too thoughtful. This way... I can rest assured and go patrol Kings Gate in a while."
Greene teased, "When you have time, it's best to say hello to Hand of the King Tywin. I'm worried he might misunderstand that I've allied with his children to form an alliance against the Old Lion."
Tyrion almost sprayed the wine in his mouth. He chuckled, "That's a great idea, I love you to death, Greene."
Shrugging his shoulders, Greene raised his cup to him in salute, "May the Master of Coin soon rescue the suffering people of King's Landing."
Tyrion almost stood on his chair to pick up the wine pot. As he poured the wine, he said, "My amiable father loves to throw thankless and arduous tasks to his favorite son. Hmm, I remember... on my sixteenth naming day, Hand of the King Tywin's meticulously prepared gift for me was to put me in charge of all the sewers and cisterns in Casterly Rock."
Since childhood, he had always harbored a dream that one day he could travel the world and personally witness the sixteen wonders his Uncle Gylian (Tywin's youngest brother) spoke of.
But Hand of the King Tywin ended this dream ten days before his Dwarf son's sixteenth naming day.
According to his father, he would never allow the Lannister to be shamed across the Narrow Sea because of a Dwarf.
Then, to commemorate his coming of age, his father threw the gutters and troughs of Casterly Rock to his Dwarf son.
Tyrion took a sip of summer red. Perhaps... Hand of the King Tywin hoped his Dwarf son would fall into one of the sewers and never climb out.
Pulling his thoughts back, he said in a relaxed tone, "The seven large golden cups that the King and Queen will share at their wedding—my good nephew sent someone to propose his idea. He demanded that they display the Seven Kingdoms subservient to the King... Hmm, or perhaps destined to be subservient to the great Joffrey?"
He shrugged his small shoulders and continued, "Seven golden cups as tall as I am, with the sigils of the seven great noble houses on them: a ruby Lion, an emerald Rose, an onyx stag, a silver Trout, an opal sun, a pearl direwolf, a sapphire..."
He paused, his voice filled with emotion, "The last falcon 'flew' away. I'll have someone prepare Marigold carved from sapphire."
Greene reminded him, "I heard there's also going to be a seven-tiered cake."
Upon hearing this, Tyrion's messy hair was once again ruffled by his own hand, "Seven hundred and seventy thousand gold dragons... The wedding is so extravagant, if the news spreads, I even worry... a riot might break out in King's Landing on the day of the wedding."
"That would affect the rule of the Iron Throne."
After a pause, Greene brought up the previous issue, "I thought the grain from Riverlands was enough to meet King's Landing's bread needs; at least food prices should gradually recover."
He frowned slightly, "Is someone deliberately raising food prices?"
Tyrion spread his hands and said, "The Old Lion's roar made those people behave a bit. Actually, the biggest problem comes from the refugees from Riverlands. The war in Riverlands has sent waves of desperate Riverlands people to King's Landing."
He sighed, "Even if the war ends, as long as Riverlands hasn't resumed production, the number of refugees in King's Landing will only increase... If the war continues, the King's King's Landing will sooner or later become the Seven Hells on earth."
Greene rubbed his brow and said, "It seems... even for the sake of innocent civilians, we must end the war in the Seven Kingdoms as soon as possible."
Greene's face showed a hint of solemnity, and Tyrion's eyes trembled slightly.
After a moment of silence, the Master of Coin jovially changed the subject, "Oh, by the way, aren't you curious about what I'm going to do?"
Greene's eyebrows raised slightly, "A hint?"
"Of course."
Tyrion scratched his cheek and said, "What am I best at?"
Greene thought for a moment, then said with certainty, "Women, prostitutes."
Upon hearing this, Tyrion froze for a moment. He said angrily, "Greene, you... you..."
After speaking, he leaned back in his chair, gazing weakly at the ceiling for a while, then sighed with emotion, "You actually guessed it right away."
When he looked back at Greene, his face was full of smiles, "Collecting one copper coin per tax, the taxes I collect are for the royal expenditures, so..."
He grinned, "They and they are 'fighting' for the King every day."
Greene smiled and said, "You've chosen your target quite well."
After a pause, he reminded him, "Tyrion, if you're collecting new taxes, you at least need a legitimate name and reason. That will reduce a lot of trouble."
Tyrion chuckled and replied, "I've already thought it through. The name is the Prostitution Industry Tax. As for the reason..."
He frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Hand of the King Tywin believes... this can raise the moral standards of King's Landing?"
...
Kings Gate was one of the important battlefields of the Battle of King's Landing (Chapter 257). After defeating Stannis, only mud, ashes, and charred bones remained, and... tents set up by homeless people in the shadow of the city walls.
Tyrion rode through the crowd, surveying, and he could feel countless eyes on him: cold, angry, and hateful.
He thought... if Bronn and Cleber Soldiers weren't guarding him, he would have long been dragged off his horse by these people and the Little Devil torn to shreds.
Tyrion looked around and sighed inwardly. The desolation here was mostly due to him, so... the Little Devil had to do something to make amends.
He recalled the dilapidated scenes he had seen during his inspections these past few days, especially near Dung Gate.
The reconstruction costs calculated by his officials were staggering.
Damn it, where would the money come from?
King's Landing is not only the King's city, but it is also the second largest port in the Seven Kingdoms, only smaller than Oldtown. Trade must be reopened as soon as possible, or things will only get worse.
Should he be grateful that Hand of the King Tywin entrusted him with the heavy responsibility of cleaning up the mess?
As he finished his inspection and was about to leave Kings Gate, Tyrion slowly reined in his horse. Over there... hollow-eyed children gathered, some silently staring, others crying out for alms.
He pulled out a handful of copper coins from his money pouch and tossed them out. The children immediately began to scramble, shouting and pushing each other. The lucky ones among them might get a piece of moldy bread tonight.
At this moment, Tyrion desperately needed Shae's comfort: "Hurry up."
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