Upon returning to the camp, Duke Mace Tyrell immediately summoned those who would participate in tomorrow's team martial arts competition, either to inquire about their status or to boost morale.
For him, this martial arts tournament was an opportunity for House Tyrell to gain fame, but he did not know that the Thorn Queen, far away in Highgarden, had no interest in this martial arts tournament and did not believe that House Tyrell needed a victory in a martial arts tournament to gain fame.
Due to the return of His Grace the Duke, the guards and Duke's Guard from House Tyrell's temporary official residence in King's Landing also came to the camp.
The original camp guard duties were handed over to these people, and Linde also found himself with nothing to do.
Just as Linde was about to take a few of his subordinates and Glory to hunt in the nearby mountains, and train Glory at the same time, Scholar Holly found him and expressed his hope that Linde could escort him to the city to see Grand Maester Pycelle.
Linde naturally would not refuse.
He instructed Raul to take care of Daenerys whom he had rescued, then changed into casual clothes, told Fotimo's attendant that he had business in the city, and then walked down the slope of Lion Hill with Scholar Holly.
If King Robert was included, Grand Maester Pycelle had served four kings in the Red Keep, which gave him a very high status in the hearts of some people in the Red Keep, even higher than the king.
It was precisely because of this that after King Robert ascended the Iron Throne, Prime Minister Duke Arryn specifically arranged a residence for Scholar Pycelle near the castle library, and built a road directly connecting to the outside of the Red Keep near this residence, and also bought a house for Grand Maester Pycelle near this road, granting Scholar Pycelle the right to directly access the Red Keep, which showed extreme importance.
And in this year, Grand Maester Pycelle had also done an excellent job in helping King Robert stabilize the situation, for example, it was he who facilitated the marriage between King Robert and Cersei Lannister, winning over the powerful Lannister, and completely stabilizing the Iron Throne.
Therefore, he was also very happy to see Cersei pregnant and giving birth.
When King Robert proposed holding a martial arts tournament in its name, he also expressed approval.
However, these days he had neither attended the banquet nor gone to watch the martial arts tournament.
Instead, he stayed in the library, organizing documents of the Targaryen Dynasty and compiling the history of the Targaryen Dynasty.
In fact, as early as when he served as Grand Maester to Aegon V, he had already thought of compiling the history of the Targaryen Dynasty, but this involved many secret histories of the Targaryen Royal Family that could not be made public.
He had barely started when Aegon V immediately prohibited him, and subsequent kings also successively prevented him from compiling the history of the Targaryen Dynasty.
Despite this, Grand Maester Pycelle had never given up.
For years, he had been collecting various relevant materials, organizing them, and storing them together, waiting for the day they could be used.
Now that Robert Baratheon had ascended the Iron Throne, the Targaryen Dynasty had ended, and House Baratheon was beginning, the secret histories of the Targaryen Royal Family were no longer taboo.
Moreover, because King's Landing was breached very quickly, a large number of relevant secret documents in the Red Keep did not have time to be destroyed.
In addition, some documents found by Stannis Baratheon on Dragonstone, and some Valyrian historical materials related to the Targaryen family provided by House Velaryon of Driftmark, meant that he had enough materials and documents to complete the compilation of the Targaryen Dynasty Chronicles.
However, these documents and materials were simply too vast, and their content was complex and obscure.
Many important documents were also written in coded languages, so it was very difficult for him, his assistants, and his students alone to organize these materials clearly.
He needed to invite other scholars with historical compilation abilities to participate and jointly complete this classic work.
Among all the candidates that came to Grand Maester Pycelle's mind, there was one person he considered most suitable to participate in this matter, and that person was Scholar Holly.
At the Citadel, Scholar Holly was renowned for his historical knowledge.
Any question related to history, whether it was the family history of a great noble or the history of changes in Westeros, he could effortlessly answer as if reciting from memory.
Furthermore, during his studies, he corrected errors and loopholes in various historical manuscripts compiled in the past many times.
If Scholar Holly's personality hadn't been so reclusive, and if he hadn't known how to make friends and had offended important figures at the Citadel, being forced to leave the Citadel, then Scholar Holly might have already picked up the bronze scepter and worn the bronze mask, becoming a Doctor of History at the Citadel.
Therefore, when he felt it was difficult to organize historical documents by himself, Grand Maester Pycelle found an Assistant Scholars under him who had a good relationship with Scholar Holly and asked him to invite Scholar Holly to participate in the joint compilation of the Targaryen Dynasty Chronicles.
Scholar Holly quickly agreed to this invitation and wrote back to the Assistant Scholars, telling him that he would come to King's Landing with House Tyrell's contingent.
After receiving the reply, Grand Maester Pycelle had been waiting for House Tyrell's contingent to arrive in King's Landing.
But just a few days ago, after House Tyrell's contingent arrived in King's Landing, the Scholar Holly he was waiting for did not appear, which made him suspect that something had happened to Scholar Holly.
So, he sent someone to House Tyrell's camp to inquire and learned that Scholar Holly was indeed in the military camp, but had some matters to attend to and could not come to see Grand Maester Pycelle.
Although somewhat displeased with Scholar Holly's attitude, Grand Maester Pycelle did not get angry.
For him, the most important thing now was to complete the historical compilation of the Targaryen Dynasty.
So, after understanding Scholar Holly's situation, he had that Assistant Scholars stay at his residence outside the Red Keep, and as soon as Scholar Holly arrived, he was to be brought directly to him.
Grand Maester Pycelle liked to organize materials slowly by himself, so he sent all his servants out of the room, then sat at the table and slowly flipped through the relevant materials of the Targaryen Royal Family's secret history by his side, quickly recording the key points.
He didn't know how much time had passed; it was already dark outside, and the candlelight in the room had also dimmed considerably, making it unsuitable for continued reading.
Just as Grand Maester Pycelle closed the book and notes on the table, preparing to rest and eat something, he saw someone standing beside him without him knowing when.
After being startled, Grand Maester Pycelle vigilantly looked up, his hand in his sleeve resting on the dagger hidden inside.
By the not-so-bright candlelight, he saw a familiar face, but he was very puzzled as to why the other person would appear here, so he said, "Scholar Herne, when did you return from Harrenhal, and what I asked you to bring from Harrenhal…"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly felt that Scholar Herne in front of him seemed a bit off, and couldn't help but frown.
Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, his face instantly darkened considerably, and he said in a deep voice, "How dare you come back?
His Majesty the King's arrest warrant has not been revoked.
Anyone would hunt you down for two thousand gold dragons.
Why aren't you back across the Narrow Sea, and what are you doing still in King's Landing?
Do you still want to assassinate the King?"
The man raised his hand, signaling Scholar Pycelle to be quiet, then said coldly, "Don't be nervous.
I'm not interested in your king; he's not on my list.
I just came back to collect a debt you owe me."
"When did I owe you a debt?" Grand Maester Pycelle knew very well how strong the person in front of him was, and that resistance was useless, so he withdrew his hand from his sleeve.
"You took my money but didn't tell me that guy was protected by four heavily armored knights and a team of archers, almost getting me killed there," the other party said, gritting his teeth slightly, "Your intelligence error caused me considerable harm, so you must refund half of my money, and also compensate me with a fee.
Otherwise, I don't mind letting Grand Maester you sleep forever and never wake up."
Although Grand Maester Pycelle was somewhat greedy for money, he also knew that life was more important than money.
Facing the threat from the person in front of him, he could only choose to compromise.
Just as he was about to agree to compensate the other party, a servant at the door knocked on the bronze ring hanging above and said, "Lord Pycelle, Scholar Holly has arrived.
Will you see him now?"
Grand Maester Pycelle hesitated upon hearing this, then gestured to the man, telling him not to speak, and then turned to the door and said, "Let him in!"