Noisy talking pulled Aegon back to reality, only then did he realize it wasn't the time to think. After leading the horse for Eddard Stark's captain of the guard and inviting the two guests, one big and one small, into the not-yet-open Night's Watch Office to sit down, he secretly continued his previous thoughts.
To maintain his deception, he seemed to have to work hard to become a guardian of peace, which felt a bit ridiculous. But Aegon couldn't laugh, this was a very serious and troublesome matter, stopping the War of the Five Kings... just thinking about it gave him a sense of déjà vu like stopping Bran from falling. Was this war something another god wanted to cause?
Wait, thinking like this won't lead anywhere, forget those damned transcendent beings. Without a doubt, getting rid of Littlefinger, Varys... these two schemers is the most fundamental and permanent solution, but unfortunately, he couldn't do it himself. And using external help, Aegon quickly thought of Jaqen H'ghar, but speaking of this guy, he got a headache again.
The scab from the wound Melisandre bled him from a few days ago hadn't fallen off yet, and that night he remembered the existence of such a Faceless Man. The delay in recruiting wasn't because he forgot, but because he really couldn't think of a good method.
***
Jaqen is from Braavos, and the special thing about Braavos is not just that it has an Iron Bank. This city across the Narrow Sea is a place with a very ahead-of-its-time feel: a multi-ethnic immigrant city-state, a land of freedom built by slaves and where slavery was permanently abolished, a thriving maritime port for trade, a relaxed and free diverse religion and culture, an Iron Bank whose financial and political power is unfathomable, the Faceless Men, an elite assassin organization with a fierce reputation for "mission must kill", and the Sea Lord, the official ruler chosen by the upper class of Braavos according to a mysterious and perplexing process from all citizens... The history of this city-state has seen several large-scale foreign wars, never suffering a defeat, even Pentos, which is also a Free City but much older and seemed much stronger on paper at the start of conflicts, was thoroughly defeated by this newcomer and forced to publicly announce the abolition of slavery...
Always winning, and none of their opponents were pushovers, this astonishing ability to win was no accident. To win wars of this magnitude requires extremely high demands on the coordination, mobilization, and integration of internal resources, organizations, and armed forces—the organizations within Braavos such as the Sea Lord, the Iron Bank, and the House of Black and White are by no means unrelated independent entities. There are definitely certain mutual assistance agreements or even strategic-level cooperative relationships between the high-level figures behind them in private, it's not even impossible that they are directly the same group of people.
Aegon even dared to boldly guess that the role played by the House of Black and White in Braavos is that of an organization responsible for training spies and assassins—responsible for collecting intelligence and eliminating important hostile figures who threaten Braavos' interests!
In short, the House of Black and White, as a core organization of Braavos, is part of the ruling class, and Jaqen, as a high-level Faceless Man assassin with the right to take apprentices, a major spy from across the Narrow Sea, what virtue and ability does he have to subdue this guy and make him kill for him?
How could a terrifying guy with an organization he serves, a faith he is loyal to, extensive knowledge, and who kills like mowing grass, end up in King's Landing's dungeon? Was his ride with Yoren to the The Wall accidental or intentional? Is he in Westeros to kill someone, or is he carrying out some other mission?
...
Knowing nothing, how could he go and talk to someone? This high-level Faceless Man is currently in the black cells, and has already expressed to Yoren his willingness to join the Night's Watch. Aegon had considered creating an accident and then pretending to rescue him to make him owe a favor, but after thinking it over, it was simply impossible without confidantes and reliable accomplices.
***
The path of violent disruption through killing is not feasible, so he can only try to suppress the chaos and help Eddard win in this game in King's Landing, or at least not suffer a crushing defeat.
Go against Littlefinger? Aegon doesn't think his level of political maneuvering is that high, not to mention there's also a eunuch or troublemaker who, although with a different goal from the former, also wants to stir things up at this stage, acting as a temporary ally. In a situation where the proficiency in scheming and the ability to acquire information are extremely unbalanced, his advantage of knowing the plot is nothing at all. The two high-level players on the other side are wholeheartedly causing trouble, while he, a novice, has to manage the Night's Watch Bonds while also trying to stabilize the situation. He's afraid he'll get busier and make more mistakes, and might accidentally expose himself and get killed.
Not to mention, what he knew was just the plot before it changed.
The failed attempt to stop Bran from falling left Aegon with lingering fears. He really didn't want to jump in directly and interfere with the plot like this. How did he finally manage to get out of that mess in Winterfell in one go?
[Secretly inform the Stark family.]
Past successful cases suddenly gave Aegon inspiration. Just like wanting to distance himself from Bran's assassination didn't necessarily require him to personally deal with the assassin, wanting to help Eddard didn't necessarily mean he had to play against Littlefinger himself. As the actual ruler of the North, Aegon had his own power and thinking ability. As long as he could sow discord between Eddard and Littlefinger and prevent Eddard from being led by the nose, that would be enough!
...
"Aegon, my lady is talking to you."
A male voice suddenly came, interrupting Aegon's thoughts again. He looked up, and a young, tender face was before him.
"Ah, sorry, I was thinking about recruitment. What does Arya have to instruct?"
"Are you the Aegon Jon talked about?" Arya pouted slightly, repeating her previous words: "That Night's Watch Ranger who killed a White Walker?"
"Yes."
Aegon glanced at Jory, the Hand of the King's captain of the guard, whose face was full of disbelief, and admitted somewhat helplessly that this feeling of being a little guilty even when telling the truth was really strange.
"Are White Walkers very powerful?"
"Very powerful. Gared and I, two against one, were almost double killed."
"But you still killed it in the end, so your sword skills must be great!" Light shone in the girl's eyes. "Come here, I have something to tell you."
"Don't follow!" the girl shouted at her Father's guard, then dragged the bewildered Aegon into the inner "Chief Logistics Officer's Office", closed the door, and then said mysteriously: "Can you teach me how to use a sword?"
"Huh?" Aegon was a little strange, calculating the time, by this stage, shouldn't Eddard have already hired a sword master for her? It seemed he was from Braavos, named Li... Li'ou what? "Why don't you ask your Father to hire a master for you?"
"How could he agree, are you stupid! I'm a girl!"
***
This is a bit strange, what plot change caused something that should have happened not to happen? Aegon understood that this was very likely caused by himself. The characteristic of the butterfly effect is that a small disturbance in the initial conditions can lead to long-term and huge chain reactions throughout the system: it might be his tip-off framing Joffrey that changed Eddard's thinking, or perhaps Arya carefully hid her needle and it wasn't seen by her Father... The specific reason is irrelevant, he is now as busy as a ghost, how could he have time for this Stark girl?
"I'm very busy, I'm sorry, my lady." I'm busy saving your Father, Aegon thought to himself, but politely shook his head: "Go find your Father's guard."
"My Father just did you a big favor, and you won't even agree to this small thing!"
It was your Father who helped me, not you, Aegon smiled wryly. Arya is undoubtedly an important character, and if there's nothing else, getting on good terms with her could be put on the list of side moves... but she might only be useful to him after completing her Faceless Man training. At this stage, this girl is useless to him.
Evaluating others based on whether they are "useful" is undoubtedly somewhat utilitarian, but Aegon is now in the thick of things and really cannot afford to be romantic. He shook his head resolutely, organizing his words of refusal under Arya's threatening glare, but at the last moment, he suddenly had some other ideas.
--