The sky was cloudless and azure, and people from all walks of life in King's Landing gathered there. From above, the square was almost completely packed.
Ordinary wealthy people and nobles dressed in silk clothing were naturally able to stand closer to the Great Cathedral, surrounded by servants.
As for ordinary people, they stood on the relatively outer perimeter. From children as young as a few years old to old women with wrinkled faces, from boatmen working hard on the riverbank to merchants walking through the streets and alleys, they all gathered here.
"I heard the king is going to crown himself using the Red God ceremony?"
" Red God? But we all believe in the Seven Gods! Isn't the king afraid of being punished by the Seven Gods?"
"Stop arguing. The king will definitely be crowned according to the ritual of the Seven Gods. He is the king of Westeros."
The people of King's Landing are well-informed; they know Dao The Red God is also known as the Lord of Light.
Compared to these commoners, the wealthy and nobles ahead had already decided that Stannis would crown himself with the ceremony of the Lord of Light as the main ritual.
He had gathered the Pyromancers from the Alchemists' Guild and brought them into Red Keep. In an instant, the older folks seemed to have returned to the Aerys era.
During Aerys's rule in the Late Stage, he even elected a Pyromancer as his prime minister, but this Pyromancer only served as prime minister for a little over twenty days before being killed by Jaime Lannister.
While commoners simply wanted to understand the situation, the wealthy and nobles were considering whether or not to follow in Stannis's footsteps. If they could get closer to the new king through the faith of the Lord of Light, they wouldn't mind redecorating their sanctuary in the style of the Red God.
At the very front of the cathedral, which can be considered the center of the ceremony, more than a dozen flags fluttered high.
The most eye-catching image is the fiery stag, followed closely by the House Florent banner.
In addition, there are Winterfell's Direwolf flag, Jon's black Direwolf flag, Eyrie's flag, and Tyrell's green flag with gold flowers.
Each of the four flags has a specific story behind it.
Jon's black Direwolf flag goes without saying, while Winterfell's gray Direwolf flag actually represents Eddard Stark.
Eyrie Arryn Family, with its blue background and flying eagle, also includes Catelyn, the widow of former Prime Minister Jon Arryn. Tully's sister, Lysa Arryn, is holding her only son, Robert Arryn, representing the Valley, all thanks to Petyr.
Petyr was dismissed from his position as treasurer by Stannis, but unwilling to leave the center of power, he turned to Queen Selyse.
He assured Selyse that he could persuade Catelyn's sister, Lysa, the widow of the former Hand of the King, Duke Eyrie, and the Warden of the Vale, to attend the King's coronation.
And he did indeed succeed, thus being allowed to attend the coronation ceremony. Selyse's goodwill towards Stannis increased somewhat because of this.
In addition, Littlefinger Petyr also had Lysa provide Stannis with an interest-free loan of several hundred thousand gold dragons.
This further alleviated Stannis's immediate crisis.
Despite knowing Dao Petyr has a strong desire for power, but he believes he can control the situation, so he turns a blind eye to Littlefinger's behavior.
As for House Tyrell, he had just arrived a few days ago, along with a considerable amount of grain. This grain was touted as an interest-free loan, but in reality, it could also be considered a fine paid by House Tyrell.
As if by design, House Tyrell's green flag with gold flowers was placed right next to Jon's black flag with white wolves.
House Tyrell was accompanied by a large number of people, including Mace, his mother Lady Olenna, his wife Alerie, Garlan, Margaery, and Margaery's maid.
One of the maids, named Lia, was dressed almost as elaborately as Margaery, and even wore more jewelry than Margaery.
She was actually used as a shield for Margaery, and was also Tyrell's choice to marry Jon.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jon will fall in love with this Lydia at first sight, then they will be betrothed, enter the bridal chamber, and have a child soon.
But Lia, a girl who longed for stories of knights and princes, was not looking forward to being with Jon.
Even though Jon's story is also very interesting, and even though he is now a duke, Lia is still somewhat unwilling.
Margaery stood in the middle of the line, listening to Mace mutter under his breath, "What Lord of Light? Now look at all these red-robed monks, I feel like I've gone abroad."
Margaery looked ahead at the ongoing coronation ceremony, where Stannis, now draped in a red cloak, was surrounded by a group of Red Priests wielding longswords.
Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the coronation ceremony, she secretly turned her head to look in Jon's direction.
Compared to House Tyrell's large and powerful force, Jon's side seemed rather small in number.
Under the black banner with white wolves, there were almost only him and two guards; Sansa and Arya had to stand under the gray banner of Winterfell.
Margaery looked at Jon's profile and thought that his features were fairly well-defined, and he could be considered handsome. She also noticed that Jon seemed to be deep in thought about something.
There are quite a few bastards in Tyrell's family. Although their family has very lenient restrictions on bastards, bastards are not allowed to appear on any important occasions.
Presumably, the same goes for Stark of Winterfell. It's truly remarkable that such an unremarkable bastard has managed to reach this position.
Suddenly, Margaery saw Jon turn his head to look at him, and their eyes collided like a runaway carriage.
Margaery didn't shy away like most girls would; instead, she smiled back, and Jon nodded in return.
Mace seemed to realize something at this moment, glanced back at Margaery, and then followed Margaery's gaze to Jon.
Seeing Jon dare to covet his daughter, an inexplicable anger flared within him. He glared at Jon, then shifted slightly to stand between the two, waiting until Jon obediently turned away before whispering to Margaery, " Dao, this Bastard is a wicked man. I knew he wasn't a good person when we fought in King's Landing. After the coronation, you must stay close to me and don't let him get near you!"
"Yes, Father," Margaery replied softly, but the image of those gray eyes kept flashing through his mind.
She clearly remembered that Jon was the same age as her, and that noble youths of the same or similar age as her would generally show expressions of surprise, experience, or even greed upon seeing her. Margaery was already tired of this.
Jon's eyes, however, were calm, yet they held a wisdom and a maturity far beyond his years. She had only ever seen such brilliance in his grandmother Olena's eyes.
Just as Margaery was savoring that brief eye contact, he was suddenly interrupted by the Red Priests surrounding Stannis.
They wiped their hands on the longswords, and with a loud bang, all of the dozen or so swords burst into flames.
Those who were initially dissatisfied with the Red God coronation ceremony now felt a sense of awe.
The Red Priests, brandishing flaming swords, surrounded Stannis in the center, his shadow flickering on the ground in the firelight.
Before him, Melisandre stood with outstretched arms, chanting in Valyrian and the distant Asshai language.
As Melisandre chanted, the flames on those longswords gradually turned blood red, and suddenly she faced Stannis.
As if receiving some kind of signal, Stannis drew his Lightbringer. Although the Lightbringer did not emit flames like other ordinary longswords, it shone brightly with red and yellow light.
This caused everyone's expression to change simultaneously.
Sansa goes without saying; she's been well-behaved from the very beginning.
Arya was also taken aback, and her restless hands and feet stood obediently.
Mace is speechless; even Olena, who has seen a lot in her life, was deeply attracted.
At that moment, Jon noticed that the red gemstone necklace around Melisandre's neck was also radiating light.
Not only the nobles who were standing closest to the scene, but even the common people who were far away were stunned by what they saw.
After all these years, the Seven Gods have never shown any miracles. On the contrary, the Lord of Light seems more powerful and reliable right now.
Moreover, when Red Priest proclaims the Lord of Light, he always talks about light and warmth.
Some elderly people who have experienced winter and know how cold and difficult it is have begun to waver.
Melisandre then took out a crown inlaid with rubies, held it high above Stannis's head, and began to chant.
The first time it was Asshai, the second time it was Valyrian, and the third time it was Common.
The first two times, no one could understand it, but the third time, they understood it clearly.
We Mortals, born alone, die alone, lost and bewildered, wandering in the valley—
Fortunately, we have our compatriots, gathered together to walk; fortunately, God blesses us.
When the third prayer ended, the ruby crown was finally placed on Stannis's bald head, obscuring the light in the center of his head.
The shadow cast by the crown perfectly matched the ring of hair around his head.
It's as if he shaved his hair just to make room for Wang Guanteng.
After the coronation ceremony, Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Jenny Puer sat in the same carriage.
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In the carriage, Sansa marveled at Margaery's beauty. For the first time since realizing that she was also beautiful, this was the first time she had felt somewhat insecure about her appearance.
" Jon, you must find a way to marry her. You're a duke now, you're perfectly worthy of her," Sansa said earnestly.
"You're making it sound like the people in House Tyrell would definitely agree. Your Majesty already said that I'll most likely marry the girl from the House Tyrell branch next to her. She's definitely my sister, always thinking of the best for me." Jon teased Dao, reaching out to pinch Sansa's rounder cheeks.
Sansa shyly pushed Jon's hand away and said to Dao, "That won't do. Don't worry, I'll help you then."
"You'll help me?"
"I'm sure I can do it, Cersei —I know how Dao should talk to her anyway." Sansa looked at Arya and said, " Arya, you have to come with me."
"No, I want to learn how to add flames to weapons!" Arya shook her head, still immersed in the magical effects of the coronation ceremony she had just witnessed.
Sansa wanted to complain about Arya, but then she remembered Eddard's dying wish and decided against it.
Just then, a face appeared outside the carriage window. Although the name Dao was unknown, the ears revealed that Dao was a knight from House Florent.
The young knight leaned against the carriage window and whispered, "Your Grace, Queen Majesty asked me to tell you that you should pay attention at the banquet, as she will create an opportunity for you and Miss Margaery to meet."
After saying this, the young knight left.