-55- Flexible bottom line

Queen Cersei gently patted Princess Myrcella's back.

Cersei's gaze seemed distracted, the continuous cheers outside the carriage plunging her into distant memories.

...

Back then, when she and the young King Robert Baratheon walked hand in hand out of the Great Sept of Baelor, the cheers of the crowd were just like today's.

Thousands of people came to King's Landing to bless her union with King Robert, the square was bustling with unprecedented excitement, all the women wore their most beautiful clothes, and half of the men carried their children on their shoulders.

The tall and heroic Robert whispered to her ear that everyone adored her. Cersei, wearing the queen's crown, tried to love Robert, and she was prepared to be content as a queen.

That day, Cersei Lannister married Robert Baratheon in splendor, and that day she was the winner!

However, Cersei Lannister's good mood didn't last long.

On their wedding night, Cersei, pinned beneath Robert's drunken body, endured his entry, and afterward, she heard Robert murmuring Lyanna's name.

Lyanna Stark had once been Robert Baratheon's betrothed, and for the proud Cersei, Robert's behavior was unforgivable.

Living Lyanna took away the prince Rhaegar she had secretly admired, and dead Lyanna took away the heart of her newlywed husband Robert. Cersei felt like a loser under Lyanna's hand, and Lyanna's name became her shame!

Cersei Lannister, who had always harbored a competitive spirit with men, how could she be defeated by a woman?

What's even more hateful is that Lyanna is already dead, and Cersei can't seek revenge on her!

...

Queen Cersei's palm clenched slightly.

"Mother?"

Myrcella seemed to sense Cersei's strangeness, her eyes turning with concern, her little face showing worry.

Cersei Queen regained her thoughts.

"I'm fine, Myrcella. Pay attention to your demeanor and always remember your identity."

After hearing Queen Cersei's words, Myrcella immediately adjusted her posture obediently, her little face "proudly" raising her chin slightly.

Queen Cersei nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

...

In an open space outside the Lion Gate of King's Landing, a large crowd had gathered, with banners of various houses fluttering in the wind.

When the carriage carrying the queen stopped, the bustling crowd suddenly quieted down, and everyone bowed towards the direction of the carriage.

Queen Cersei naturally wouldn't receive the noblewomen attending the royal hunt by the carriage.

A large tent had already been set up here for the queen to meet the noblewomen.

From the carriage to the tent, a distance of less than a hundred meters, was covered with Cersei's favorite wine-red carpets.

These carpets were provided by a King's Landing carpet merchant named Pitri.

Gallen's only concern was the number of uses, so the terms of the deal he discussed with the carpet merchant Pitri were based on usage fees, not purchase prices.

Although Pitri was doing this kind of transaction for the first time, he had seen similar ones before, so the transaction went very smoothly.

According to the terms of the deal, Pitri would bring a team to drive a cart full of carpets to the places where Queen Cersei would stay in advance.

After the hunting ended and they returned to King's Landing, Pitri would not only earn the usage fee from Gallen, but also retain ownership of the carpets.

As for the carpets stepped on by Queen Cersei, Pitri wouldn't care about how to deal with them in the future.

...

It was common for nobles in Westeros to lay carpets in their houses, but it was very rare to lay them like roads in the wild.

It's not a matter of waste, it's just that this kind of custom hasn't been formed. Gallen wouldn't underestimate the lavishness of the nobles for the sake of appearances and prestige.

...

Queen Cersei, stepping on the pre-laid carpets, nodded in satisfaction to herself.

Gallen, as the overseer of the royal hunt and chief officer, escorted Queen Cersei into the tent.

Queen Cersei, who had been holding Myrcella's hand all the time, handed Myrcella over to the handmaid and sat down. "Lord Gallen, you are very thoughtful."

Queen Cersei was referring to the various expensive fruits arranged on the long tables inside the tent.

From the carpets to the fruits now, these had never appeared in the previous royal hunt, and Queen Cersei naturally understood that all of this came from Gallen's careful arrangements.

...

Gallen said respectfully, "Your Majesty, with your noble status, these are just small embellishments."

Gallen wouldn't tell Queen Cersei that after they left, his people would be responsible for arranging for people to "discreetly" transport these fruits to his estate.

There were merchants waiting to purchase this batch of fruits, and Gallen's price would be fair, worth their early wait.

Including the expenses for the carpets, Gallen completed all this with the additional funds for the royal hunt approved by the Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish.

Moreover, as the personally appointed overseer of the royal hunt by Queen Cersei, Gallen had the final say in how to handle these things.

For today's operation, Lord Gallen had been busy all day.

...

Queen Cersei took the wine glass handed to her by the handmaid and took a sip, her lips slightly curled. "It will have some effect, at least those women who only like gossip behind men's backs will be much more honest."

Queen Cersei took another big sip of the summer red, and she extended the wine glass to the handmaid.

Queen Cersei continued, "I've grown tired of their boring conversations during every hunt."

Queen Cersei lightly shook the wine glass in her hand and said, "Lord Gallen, it's because of you that I have some interest in this event."

Gallen bowed respectfully, "Thank you for your appreciation, your grace. I am honored."

Queen Cersei nodded slightly, her green eyes flickering, "I was surprised when I received the news. This is not an easy thing to do. I'm curious how you managed to persuade Littlefinger? I know that man is generally not honest."

There was more to Queen Cersei's words, and Gallen's heart stirred. It's that bastard Jamie again!

Gallen sighed, "It was Lord Baelish who facilitated the meeting between me and Lord Arryn."

Gallen continued, "After all, his presence has been discovered, and Lord Baelish may be afraid that we won't let him off."

The corner of Queen Cersei's lips curled up, and she leaned slightly against the armrest, "What do you think of Littlefinger?"

Gallen pondered for a moment and said, "Well, Littlefinger's bottom line is quite flexible."

Gallen was glanced at by Queen Cersei.