歌手的指头拂过竖琴琴弦，王座厅内充溢甜美的音律。“在那骸骨的王座上，死神打量着被谋杀的王兄……”哈米西开始唱，歌词讲述了蓝礼后悔攫取侄儿的王冠，所以拒绝死神的召唤，重回阳间，对抗自己的二哥，以保卫王国。
His fingers moved across the strings of the high harp, filling the throne room with sweet sound. “From his throne of bones the Lord of Death looked down on the murdered lord,” Hamish began, and went on to tell how Renly, repenting his attempt to usurp his nephew’s crown, had defied the Lord of Death himself and crossed back to the land of the living to defend the realm against his brother.
就为这档子荒唐剧，“银舌”西蒙被做成了褐汤，提利昂饶有兴味地想。唱到最后，当歌手说起勇敢的蓝礼大人英魂不散，千里走单骑前往高庭，去看他的真爱最后一眼时，玛格丽王后已感动得泪眼汪汪。“蓝礼·拜拉席恩这辈子从未为任何事后悔过，”小恶魔告诉珊莎，“但若我是裁判，会把镀金银弦竖琴判给哈米西。”
And for this poor Symon wound up in a bowl of brown, Tyrion mused. Queen Margaery was teary-eyed by the end, when the shade of brave Lord Renly flew to Highgarden to steal one last look at his true love’s face. “Renly Baratheon never repented of anything in his life,” the Imp told Sansa, “but if I’m any judge, Hamish just won himself a gilded lute.”
“琴手”还为大家表演了一些熟悉的歌曲。毫无疑问，《金玫瑰》是赞美提利尔家，《卡斯特梅的雨季》是奉承他父亲，《少女、圣母与老妪》是取悦总主教，而《我心爱的妻子》则点燃了少男少女胸中的罗曼蒂克之火。提利昂半心半意地倾听，一边吃了甜玉米屑，混合切碎的枣子、苹果和橙子烤的燕麦面包以及野猪肋骨肉。
The Harper also gave them several more familiar songs. “A Rose of Gold” was for the Tyrells, no doubt, as “The Rains of Castamere” was meant to flatter his father. “Maiden, Mother, and Crone” delighted the High Septon, and “My Lady Wife” pleased all the little girls with romance in their hearts, and no doubt some little boys as well. Tyrion listened with half a ear, as he sampled sweetcorn fritters and hot oatbread baked with bits of date, apple, and orange, and gnawed on the rib of a wild boar.
接下来，菜上得越来越快，表演也愈加繁多，他则不停索要麦酒与葡萄酒。哈米西走后，一只矮个老熊在笛子和鼓声的指挥下笨拙地翩翩起舞，同时宾客们享用碎杏仁包裹着煮的鳟鱼。月童踩着高跷，在席间追逐提利尔大人滑稽的胖弄臣黄油饼，领主夫人们品尝烤苍鹭和洋葱奶酪派。一个潘托斯杂技团或翻着筋斗，或倒立着走出来，一会儿单脚踩在盘子上保持平衡，一会儿又共同组成大金字塔。伴随这次表演的是用味道强烈的东方香料煮的螃蟹，杏仁奶中加胡萝卜、葡萄干和洋葱炖的大块羊排，还有新烤的鱼饼，热得烫手。
Thereafter dishes and diversions succeeded one another in a staggering profusion, buoyed along upon a flood of wine and ale. Hamish left them, his place taken by a smallish elderly bear who danced clumsily to pipe and drum while the wedding guests ate trout cooked in a crust of crushed almonds. Moon Boy mounted his stilts and strode around the tables in pursuit of Lord Tyrell’s ludicrously fat fool Butterbumps, and the lords and ladies sampled roast herons and cheese-and-onion pies. A troupe of Pentoshi tumblers performed cartwheels and handstands, balanced platters on their bare feet, and stood upon each other’s shoulders to form a pyramid. Their feats were accompanied by crabs boiled in fiery eastern spices, trenchers filled with chunks of chopped mutton stewed in almond milk with carrots, raisins, and onions, and fish tarts fresh from the ovens, served so hot they burned the fingers.
紧接着传令官们召唤下一位歌手，泰洛西人科里罗·昆延提斯，他有朱红的胡子，口音正如西蒙所说那般可笑。科里罗首先表演《血龙狂舞》——这首歌通常由男女对唱。提利昂边听，边吃了两份蜂蜜鹌鹑，灌下若干葡萄酒。科里罗接下来唱的那首民谣，关于两位恋人在末日浩劫降临的瓦雷利亚生离死别的故事本来十分生动，可惜用的是高等瓦雷利亚语，在场贵族多半听不懂，好在《酒馆女郎贝莎》以淫词荡曲赢回了人心。未拔羽毛的孔雀端了上来，它是整个儿烘烤的，肚里填满枣子。科里罗召来一名鼓手，在泰温公爵面前深深鞠躬后，唱起《卡斯特梅的雨季》。
Then the heralds summoned another singer; Collio Quaynis of Tyrosh, who had a vermilion beard and an accent as ludicrous as Symon had promised. Collio began with his version of “The Dance of the Dragons,” which was more properly a song for two singers, male and female. Tyrion suffered through it with a double helping of honey-ginger partridge and several cups of wine. A haunting ballad of two dying lovers amidst the Doom of Valyria might have pleased the hall more if Collio had not sung it in High Valyrian, which most of the guests could not speak. But “Bessa the Barmaid” won them back with its ribald lyrics. Peacocks were served in their plumage, roasted whole and stuffed with dates, while Collio summoned a drummer, bowed low before Lord Tywin, and launched into “The Rains of Castamere.”
天哪，假如非得听七个版本的“雨季”，我还真想去跳蚤窝，向那锅褐汤道歉了。提利昂转向夫人，“你喜欢哪个？”
If I have to hear seven versions of that, I may go down to Flea Bottom and apologize to the stew. Tyrion turned to his wife. “So which did you prefer?”
珊莎眨眨眼，“大人？”
Sansa blinked at him. “My lord?”
“歌手，你喜欢哪个歌手？”
“The singers. Which did you prefer?”
“我……我很抱歉，根本没听呢。”
“I … I’m sorry, my lord. I was not listening.”
她也没吃东西。“珊莎，你不舒服吗？”他不假思索地问，话一出口才觉得愚蠢。她的亲人全被杀死，而本人被迫嫁给我来参加这样一出闹剧，我还问她舒不舒服。
She was not eating, either. “Sansa, is aught amiss?” He spoke without thinking, and instantly felt the fool. All her kin are slaughtered and she’s wed to me, and I wonder what’s amiss.
“我没事，大人。”她扭过头去，假装观赏月童以枣子投掷唐托斯爵士。
“No, my lord.” She looked away from him, and feigned an unconvincing interest in Moon Boy pelting Ser Dontos with dates.
四位火术士大师召唤出四只烈火猛兽，彼此以火爪互相攻击，仆人则端上一碗碗清淡食物，包括牛肉汤和沸酒加蜂蜜、白杏仁炖的大块鸡肉。接着若干风笛手、宠物狗和吞剑艺人入厅分散表演。搭配的菜肴则是黄油豌豆，捣碎的坚果和以藏红花加桃子煮的天鹅肉。（“不要天鹅肉”，提利昂嘀咕，想起在决战之前与姐姐共进的晚餐。）某位杂耍艺人同时轮转三把长剑和三把斧头，血肠串在烤叉上滋滋响着放到桌上。提利昂认为上餐的顺序很讲究得体，虽然他并不爱吃这道菜。
Four master pyromancers conjured up beasts of living flame to tear at each other with fiery claws whilst the serving men ladeled out bowls of blandissory, a mixture of beef broth and boiled wine sweetened with honey and dotted with blanched almonds and chunks of capon. Then came some strolling pipers and clever dogs and sword swallowers, with buttered pease, chopped nuts, and slivers of swan poached in a sauce of saffron and peaches. (“Not swan again,” Tyrion muttered, remembering his supper with his sister on the eve of battle.) A juggler kept a half-dozen swords and axes whirling through the air as skewers of blood sausage were brought sizzling to the tables, a juxtaposition that Tyrion thought passing clever, though not perhaps in the best of taste.
传令官们又吹响喇叭。“为镀金竖琴的竞赛，”其中一人高声宣布，“库伊家族的葛勒昂上场了。”
The heralds blew their trumpets. “To sing for the golden lute,” one cried, “we give you Galyeon of Cuy.”
葛勒昂是个胸围宽阔的大胖子，黑胡须，秃了顶，洪亮的声音教厅内每个角落都能听见。他带来六名乐师，“尊敬的大人们，美丽的女士们，今晚，我只给您们带来一首歌，”他朗声道，“《黑水河之歌》，唱的是王国得救的故事。”鼓手们打出缓慢而阴郁的节律。
Galyeon was a big barrel-chested man with a black beard, a bald head, and a thunderous voice that filled every corner of the throne room. He brought no fewer than six musicians to play for him. “Noble lords and ladies fair, I sing but one song for you this night,” he announced. “It is the song of the Blackwater, and how a realm was saved.” The drummer began a slow ominous beat.
“暗之君主在高塔上沉思，”葛勒昂开始唱，“他的城堡如永夜般凑黑。”
“The dark lord brooded high in his tower,” Galyeon began, “in a castle as black as the night.”
“漆黑的头发，漆黑的灵魂，”乐师们齐声咏颂，一支长笛加入演奏。
“Black was his hair and black was his soul,” the musicians chanted in unison. A flute came in.
“他以嫉妒和杀戮为餐，酒杯中盛满恨意，”葛勒昂唱道，“‘我的哥哥统治过七大王国’，他告诉泼辣的妻子，‘我要用利剑结果他的子嗣，将一切占为己有’。”
“He feasted on bloodlust and envy, and filled his cup full up with spite,” sang Galyeon. “My brother once ruled seven kingdoms, he said to his harridan wife. I’ll take what was his and make it all mine. Let his son feel the point of my knife.”
“一位勇敢的王子，头发是黄金的色彩，”乐师们再度咏颂，木竖琴与提琴也加入进来。
“A brave young boy with hair of gold,” his players chanted, as a woodharp and a fiddle began to play.
“若我再当上首相，头一件事就是吊死所有歌手。”提利昂不由自主地大声喝道。
“If I am ever Hand again, the first thing I’ll do is hang all the singers,” said Tyrion, too loudly.
身边的莱昂妮夫人轻声浅笑，而加兰爵士靠过来，“请宽心，大人，公道自在人心，歌颂与否，事迹都不会被抹杀。”
Lady Leonette laughed lightly beside him, and Ser Garlan leaned over to say, “A valiant deed unsung is no less valiant.”
“暗之君主招集军团，他们如群鸦听候他的呼唤，渴望鲜血，登上战船……”
“The dark lord assembled his legions, they gathered around him like crows. And thirsty for blood they boarded their ships …”
“……来砍可怜的提利昂的鼻子。”他替对方唱完。
“… and cut off poor Tyrion’s nose,” Tyrion finished.
莱昂妮夫人咯咯笑道，“或许该由您表演才对，大人，您填的词半点不逊于这葛勒昂呢。”
Lady Leonette giggled. “Perhaps you should be a singer, my lord. You rhyme as well as this Galyeon.”
“不是这么回事，夫人，”加兰爵士解释，“我们的兰尼斯特大人生来是该干出番大事业，而不是填什么小词的人。若非他的铁索和野火，敌人早过了河；而若非他派出原住民，杀掉史坦尼斯大人绝大部分的斥候，我军也不可能收到奇袭的效果。”
“No, my lady,” Ser Garlan said. “My lord of Lannister was made to do great deeds, not to sing of them. But for his chain and his wildfire, the foe would have been across the river. And if Tyrion’s wildlings had not slain most of Lord Stannis’s scouts, we would never have been able to take him unawares.”
听罢此言，提利昂竟油然生出荒谬的感激，也稍稍不那么关心葛勒昂无休无止地颂扬小国王的勇敢和他母亲黄金太后的坚定了。
His words made Tyrion feel absurdly grateful, and helped to mollify him as Galyeon sang endless verses about the valor of the boy king and his mother, the golden queen.
“她根本不是那样子的。”珊莎突然脱口而出。
“She never did that,” Sansa blurted out suddenly.
“永远不要相信歌谣里说的任何故事，夫人。”提利昂叫仆人再把酒杯斟满。
“Never believe anything you hear in a song, my lady.” Tyrion summoned a serving man to refill their wine cups.
夜色已笼罩在高窗外，葛勒昂唱得愈发起劲。他说他的歌共有七十七段，在提利昂耳中听来简直有一千段之多。这混蛋打算给每位宾客各唱一段吗？最后几十段词他是喝酒喝过去的，一边克制住想用蘑菇塞耳朵的冲动。当歌手鞠躬离开时，许多宾客已喝得大醉，开始寻起乐子来。盛夏群岛的舞者身穿明亮的羽衣袍子和烟须状丝绸雀跃着来到大厅，派席尔国师却已伏案呼呼大睡。上熟透的蓝乳酪填麇鹿这道菜时，罗宛伯爵麾下某骑士刺了一位多恩人，金袍子赶紧上前将两人拖走，前者扔进黑牢，后者带去找巴拉拔学士诊治。
Soon it was full night outside the tall windows, and still Galyeon sang on. His song had seventy-seven verses, though it seemed more like a thousand. One for every guest in the hall. Tyrion drank his way through the last twenty or so, to help resist the urge to stuff mushrooms in his ears. By the time the singer had taken his bows, some of the guests were drunk enough to begin providing unintentional entertainments of their own. Grand Maester Pycelle fell asleep while dancers from the Summer Isles swirled and spun in robes made of bright feathers and smoky silk. Roundels of elk stuffed with ripe blue cheese were being brought out when one of Lord Rowan’s knights stabbed a Dornishman. The gold cloaks dragged them both away, one to a cell to rot and the other to get sewn up by Maester Ballabar.
提利昂漫不经心地叉起一块加了肉桂、丁香、糖和杏仁奶做调料的腌猪肉，只见乔佛里国王突然摇摇晃晃地起身。“该我的王家骑士上场啰！”他双手一拍，嗓音里带着深深的酒意。
Tyrion was toying with a leche of brawn, spiced with cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and almond milk, when King Joffrey lurched suddenly to his feet. “Bring on my royal jousters!” he shouted in a voice thick with wine, clapping his hands together.
外甥喝得比我还醉，提利昂目睹金袍卫士打开长厅尽头的大门，心里想。从他坐的地方，只能看见那对并肩而入的骑士所举斑纹长枪的顶端，随着两人踏过中央走道，走向国王，欢闹的波浪在宾客中间扩散开来。此二人骑的马特别矮吗？他猜测……直到对方进入眼帘。
My nephew is drunker than I am, Tyrion thought as the gold cloaks opened the great doors at the end of the hall. From where he sat, he could only see the tops of two striped lances as a pair of riders entered side by side. A wave of laughter followed them down the center aisle toward the king. They must be riding ponies, he concluded … until they came into full view.
所谓的“王家骑士”原来是两名侏儒，其中一人骑在一只长腿大嘴的灰狗上，另一人骑一只斑点大母猪。随着动物行动，侏儒骑士身上的彩绘木盔甲劈砰乱响。两人皆雄赳赳气昂昂地挺起长枪，提着比他们本身还大的盾牌，不时摇晃叫嚣，显得格外滑稽。一名骑士全身金色，盾牌上绘有黑色雄鹿；另一名骑士灰白相间，装饰冰原狼纹章。马铠也是类似装扮。
The jousters were a pair of dwarfs. One was mounted on an ugly grey dog, long of leg and heavy of jaw. The other rode an immense spotted sow. Painted wooden armor clattered and clacked as the little knights bounced up and down in their saddles. Their shields were bigger than they were, and they wrestled manfully with their lances as they clomped along, swaying this way and that and eliciting gusts of mirth. One knight was all in gold, with a black stag painted on his shield; the other wore grey and white, and bore a wolf device. Their mounts were barded likewise.
提利昂望向高台上一张张嘻笑的脸庞：乔佛里已乐得脸色红彤彤、喘不过气来；托曼在椅子上跳上跳下，叫个不停；瑟曦优雅地吃吃发笑；即便泰温公爵也显得颇感兴趣。高台上就坐众人中，唯有珊莎·史塔克毫无表情。他本该为此而爱她的，但事实上，史塔克女孩之前就已神游太虚，连侏儒骑士走到身边也浑若不觉。
Tyrion glanced along the dais at all the laughing faces. Joffrey was red and breathless, Tommen was hooting and hopping up and down in his seat, Cersei was chuckling politely, and even Lord Tywin looked mildly amused. Of all those at the high table, only Sansa Stark was not smiling. He could have loved her for that, but if truth be told the Stark girl’s eyes were far away, as if she had not even seen the ludicrous riders loping toward her.
不怪这两名侏儒，提利昂得出结论，等表演完毕，我会问候他们几句，打赏一大包银币，然后找出设计这小小玩笑的家伙。兰尼斯特有债必还。
The dwarfs are not to blame, Tyrion decided. When they are done, I shall compliment them and give them a fat purse of silver. And come the morrow, I will find whoever planned this little diversion and arrange for a different sort of thanks.
侏儒们在高台下停步，向国王致意时，狼骑士忙乱中掉了盾牌。他弯腰去捡，而鹿骑士同时握不住长枪，结果武器“砰”地一下砸到狼骑士背上，把他打下猪来。接着两人便乱了套，东西在地板上纠缠一团。等他们重新站起来，又一同跑去骑狗，随之而来的是另一阵叫嚷争夺和推挤。最后，两名侏儒终于重新上鞍，却互相交换了坐骑，拿错了盾牌，还坐反了方向。
When the dwarfs reined up beneath the dais to salute the king, the wolf knight dropped his shield. As he leaned over to grab for it, the stag knight lost control of his heavy lance and slammed him across the back. The wolf knight fell off his pig, and his lance tumbled over and boinked his foe on the head. They both wound up on the floor in a great tangle. When they rose, both tried to mount the dog. Much shouting and shoving followed. Finally they regained their saddles, only mounted on each other’s steed, holding the wrong shield and facing backward.
又作了一番可笑的整理后，两人终于骑到大厅走道相对的两面，准备比武。领主和贵妇们有的哄笑，有的傻乐。侏儒们“啪嗒啪嗒”地跑过来，猛然相撞，狼骑士的长枪正中鹿骑士的头盔，将对方的脑袋挑飞出去。头颅溅洒鲜血，在空中旋转，最后落到盖尔斯伯爵膝上。无头的侏儒在席间奔跑，双手拼命挥舞。狗儿狂吠，女人尖叫，月童极为惊险地踩着高跷避开现场，结果盖尔斯伯爵却从打烂的头盔里掏出一个粉碎的西瓜。当看到鹿骑士的头从盔甲里伸出来时，一阵笑闹的风暴席卷大厅。侏儒们等大家笑声渐息，才又彼此绕圈，辱骂各种情色脏话，准备第二轮比武。这时，灰狗突然抛下骑士，骑到母猪身上。大母猪可怜地尖叫抗议，婚宴宾客们乐得合不拢嘴，尤其看到鹿骑士趁机压住狼骑士，解开木制马裤，用那话儿努力干对方下体，大家的肚子都快笑爆炸了。
It took some time to sort that out, but in the end they spurred to opposite ends of the hall, and wheeled about for the tilt. As the lords and ladies guffawed and giggled, the little men came together with a crash and a clatter, and the wolf knight’s lance struck the helm of the stag knight and knocked his head clean off. It spun through the air spattering blood to land in the lap of Lord Gyles. The headless dwarf careened around the tables, flailing his arms. Dogs barked, women shrieked, and Moon Boy made a great show of swaying perilously back and forth on his stilts, until Lord Gyles pulled a dripping red melon out of the shattered helm, at which point the stag knight poked his face up out of his armor, and another storm of laughter rocked the hall. The knights waited for it to die, circled around each other trading colorful insults, and were about to separate for another joust when the dog threw its rider to the floor and mounted the sow. The huge pig squealed in distress, while the wedding guests squealed with laughter, especially when the stag knight leapt onto the wolf knight, let down his wooden breeches, and started to pump away frantically at the other’s nether portions.
“我投降，我投降，”被压在下面的侏儒尖叫，“好爵士，把您的‘宝剑’放下吧！”
“I yield, I yield,” the dwarf on the bottom screamed. “Good ser, put up your sword!”
“我会的，我会的，只要你别蠕动‘剑鞘’！”骑在上面的侏儒回答，欢乐于此刻达到顶点。
“I would, I would, if you’ll stop moving the sheath!” the dwarf on the top replied, to the merriment of all.
乔佛里笑得两个鼻孔里喷出酒来，他喘着粗气，站起身子，差点撞翻那七面巨杯。“冠军，”他叫道，“我们有了一位冠军！”听见国王发话，大厅沉默下来。侏儒们也规规矩矩地站好，无疑在等待着夸奖赏赐。“可是，这并非真正的冠军，”小乔续道，“真正的冠军得击败所有挑战者！”国王爬上桌子。“还有哪位要向我们的小冠军挑战呢？”带着愉快的笑容，他转向提利昂，“舅舅！为了王国的荣誉，你可以出战吗？我说，骑上那只猪吧！”
Joffrey was snorting wine from both nostrils. Gasping, he lurched to his feet, almost knocking over his tall two-handed chalice. “A champion,” he shouted. “We have a champion!” The hall began to quiet when it was seen that the king was speaking. The dwarfs untangled, no doubt anticipating the royal thanks. “Not a true champion, though,” said Joff. “A true champion defeats all challengers.” The king climbed up on the table. “Who else will challenge our tiny champion?” With a gleeful smile, he turned toward Tyrion. “Uncle! You’ll defend the honor of my realm, won’t you? You can ride the pig!”
笑声如海浪般打来。提利昂不记得如何起立，如何爬上椅子，反正他发现自己已站到桌子上，面前是一片摇曳的模糊笑脸。他用扭曲的面容扮出也许是七大王国有史以来最为丑陋、最为讽刺的微笑。“陛下，”他喊回去，“我骑猪……你骑狗！”
The laughter crashed over him like a wave. Tyrion Lannister did not remember rising, nor climbing on his chair, but he found himself standing on the table. The hall was a torchlit blur of leering faces. He twisted his face into the most hideous mockery of a smile the Seven Kingdoms had ever seen. “Your Grace,” he called, “I’ll ride the pig … but only if you ride the dog!”
小乔困惑地皱紧眉头，“我？我又不是侏儒，干吗上场啊？”
Joff scowled, confused. “Me? I’m no dwarf. Why me?”
你简直一如既往的迟钝，正好踏入陷阱。“干吗？因为你是全场我唯一确信能打败的人！”
Stepped right into the cut, Joff. “Why, you’re the only man in the hall that I’m certain of defeating!”
他不知哪样更甜美：是刹那间大厅内惊骇的静默，是随后猛然爆发的狂笑，还是外甥脸上无法压抑的暴跳如雷。小恶魔满意地跳下桌子，而奥斯蒙爵士和马林爵士扶国王下来。他注意到瑟曦怒视着他，便给了对方一记飞吻。
He could not have said which was sweeter; the instant of shocked silence, the gale of laughter that followed, or the look of blind rage on his nephew’s face. The dwarf hopped back to the floor well satisfied, and by the time he looked back Ser Osmund and Ser Meryn were helping Joff climb down as well. When he noticed Cersei glaring at him, Tyrion blew her a kiss.
乐师重新演奏，厅内气氛得以舒缓。两名侏儒领着猪狗离开，宾客们开始享用野猪肉。提利昂正叫人斟酒，忽被加兰爵士猛力扯住衣袖。“大人，小心，”骑士警告，“国王来了。”
It was a relief when the musícians began to play. The tiny jousters led dog and sow from the hall, the guests returned to their trenchers of brawn, and Tyrion called for another cup of wine. But suddenly he felt Ser Garlan’s hand on his sleeve. “My lord, beware,” the knight warned. “The king.”
提利昂坐在椅子上转身，只见乔佛里已经走拢，红了面颊，踉踉跄跄，手捧巨大的金杯，酒液溢过边沿。“陛下。”才说这一句，国王便将酒杯整个从他头上倒下去。红色的水流冲刷他的脸庞，浸透他的头发，刺痛他的眼睛，灼热他的伤疤，流过下巴，打湿了他的新天鹅绒外套。“感觉如何啊，小恶魔？”乔佛里嘲笑道。
Tyrion turned in his seat. Joffrey was almost upon him, red-faced and staggering, wine slopping over the rim of the great golden wedding chalice he carried in both hands. “Your Grace,” was all he had time to say before the king upended the chalice over his head. The wine washed down over his face in a red torrent. It drenched his hair, stung his eyes, burned in his wound, ran down his cheeks, and soaked the velvet of his new doublet. “How do you like that, Imp?” Joffrey mocked.
提利昂的眼睛几乎要喷出火来，他用衣袖擦脸，不停眨巴，试图让视线恢复清晰。“这样做很不适当，陛下。”他听见加兰爵士静静地表示。
Tyrion’s eyes were on fire. He dabbed at his face with the back of a sleeve and tried to blink the world back into clarity. “That was ill done, Your Grace,” he heard Ser Garlan say quietly.
“话不是这样说，加兰爵士，”提利昂不想出更大的丑，不能在这里，当着全国诸侯的面，“并非每位国王都愿意亲自来敬他卑微的仆人一杯酒的。很遗憾，酒洒掉了。”
“Not at all, Ser Garlan.” Tyrion dare not let this grow any uglier than it was, not here, with half the realm looking on. “Not every king would think to honor a humble subject by serving him from his own royal chalice. A pity the wine spilled.”
“才没有洒掉！”乔佛里根本没领会提利昂为他提供的台阶，“我也不是来敬你酒的！”
“It didn’t spill,” said Joffrey, too graceless to take the retreat Tyrion offered him. “And I wasn’t serving you, either.”
玛格丽王后突然出现在小乔身边。“我可爱的君王，”提利尔女孩恳求，“来，回座位吧，又一位歌手要开始表演。”
Queen Margaery appeared suddenly at Joffrey’s elbow. “My sweet king,” the Tyrell girl entreated, “come, return to your place, there’s another singer waiting.”
“对，伊森人阿里克，”奥莲娜·提利尔夫人拄着拐杖走近，和她孙女一样对浑身湿透的侏儒无动于衷，“希望他再唱一遍《卡斯特梅的雨季》，吃了个把钟头，我都快忘记词了。”
“Alaric of Eysen,” said Lady Olenna Tyrell, leaning on her cane and taking no more notice of the wine-soaked dwarf than her granddaughter had done. “I do so hope he plays us ‘The Rains of Castamere.’ It has been an hour, I’ve forgotten how it goes.”
“亚当爵士还要为我们祝酒呢，”玛格丽说，“来嘛，陛下。”
“Ser Addam has a toast he wants to make as well,” said Margaery. “Your Grace, please.”
“我没有酒，”乔佛里宣布，“没有酒如何能接受祝酒？小恶魔舅舅，你可以为我服务，既然无法上场比武，就当我的侍酒吧。”
“I have no wine,” Joffrey declared. “How can I drink a toast if I have no wine? Uncle Imp, you can serve me. Since you won’t joust you’ll be my cupbearer.”
“我很荣幸。”
“I would be most honored.”
“这不是什么荣誉！”乔佛里厉声尖叫，“把杯子给我捡起来。”他默然照办，手朝杯耳伸去，不料国王一脚踢翻了金杯。“捡起来！你这矮冬瓜还笨得出奇吗！？”他爬入桌子底下找到东西。“很好，现在给我倒酒，”提利昂从一名仆女手中抓过酒壶，将杯子注满三分之二。“不行，跪下去，侏儒，”于是提利昂双脚跪下，捧起沉重的金杯，心里怀疑国王是否要再让他洗次澡。幸好乔佛里这回将杯子一手接过，深饮之后，放到桌上，“你可以起来了，舅舅。”
“It’s not meant to be an honor!” Joffrey screamed. “Bend down and pick up my chalice.” Tyrion did as he was bid, but as he reached for the handle Joff kicked the chalice through his legs. “Pick it up! Are you as clumsy as you are ugly?” He had to crawl under the table to find the thing. “Good, now fill it with wine.” He claimed a flagon from a serving girl and filled the goblet three-quarters full. “No, on your knees, dwarf.” Kneeling, Tyrion raised up the heavy cup, wondering if he was about to get a second bath. But Joffrey took the wedding chalice one-handed, drank deep, and set it on the table. “You can get up now, Uncle.”
腿脚业已僵硬抽筋，几乎令他再度瘫在地上。提利昂赶紧抓住椅子稳定平衡，加兰爵士伸手来扶。乔佛里笑了，瑟曦笑了，大家都笑了。他看不见他们的脸，但记住了所有声音。
His legs cramped as he tried to rise, and almost spilled him again. Tyrion had to grab hold of a chair to steady himself. Ser Garlan lent him a hand. Joffrey laughed, and Cersei as well. Then others. He could not see who, but he heard them.
“陛下，”泰温公爵以不受影响的精准语气发话，“馅饼上来了，您得亲自切割。”
“Your Grace.” Lord Tywin’s voice was impeccably correct. “They are bringing in the pie. Your sword is needed.”
“馅饼？”国王一把挽住王后，“来，夫人，该切馅饼了。”
“The pie?” Joffrey took his queen by the hand. “Come, my lady, it’s the pie.”
大馅饼由六名喜气洋洋的厨师抬着，缓缓进入长厅，大家都站起来，叫嚷喝彩，互碰酒杯。它的直径足有两码之长，颜色金褐，表皮松脆，里面传来鸟类尖叫、扑腾和打闹的声音。
The guests stood, shouting and applauding and smashing their wine cups together as the great pie made its slow way down the length of the hall, wheeled along by a half-dozen beaming cooks. Two yards across it was, crusty and golden brown, and they could hear squeaks and thumpings coming from inside it.
提利昂坐回椅子，只等鸽子朝他拉屎，今天就算功德圆满。酒汁不仅浸透了新外套，还浸进内衣，皮肤湿漉漉的，很不舒服。他想去换装，但在闹新房之前，任何人都不得离开，现下还有二三十道菜呢。
Tyrion pulled himself back into his chair. All he needed now was for a dove to shit on him and his day would be complete. The wine had soaked through his doublet and smallclothes, and he could feel the wetness against his skin. He ought to change, but no one was permitted to leave the feast until the time came for the bedding ceremony. That was still a good twenty or thirty dishes off, he judged.
乔佛里与玛格丽在高台下等候大馅饼。国王拔出配剑，王后伸手制止，“寡妇之嚎不是用来切饼子的。”
King Joffrey and his queen met the pie below the dais. As Joff drew his sword, Margaery laid a hand on his arm to restrain him. “Widow’s Wail was not meant for slicing pies.”
“没错，”小乔提高音量，“伊林爵士，把你的剑拿来！”
“True.” Joffrey lifted his voice. “Ser Ilyn, your sword!”
从厅后的阴影里，伊林·派恩爵士突然出现。宴会上的幽灵，看着国王的刽子手大步上前，形容憔悴，神情冷酷，提利昂不禁心想。失去舌头之前的伊林爵士他并不了解，因为那时人还太小。想必当年是另一番模样，而今沉默与那双深邃的眼睛、铁灰色的锁甲和背上的双手巨剑一样，成为了他的招牌。
From the shadows at the back of the hall, Ser Ilyn Payne appeared. The specter at the feast, thought Tyrion as he watched the King’s Justice stride forward, gaunt and grim. He had been too young to have known Ser Ilyn before he’d lost his tongue. He would have been a different man in those days, but now the silence is as much a part of him as those hollow eyes, that rusty chainmail shirt, and the greatsword on his back.
伊林爵士在国王夫妇面前鞠躬，伸手过肩，将一柄六尺长、刻满符文、装饰华丽的银色巨剑抽出来，随后单膝跪地，将巨剑剑柄朝前献给乔佛里，剑柄以大块龙晶雕成微笑骷髅，红宝石眼睛闪烁着红色火光。
Ser Ilyn bowed before the king and queen, reached back over his shoulder, and drew forth six feet of ornate silver bright with runes. He knelt to offer the huge blade to Joffrey, hilt first; points of red fire winked from ruby eyes on the pommel, a chunk of dragonglass carved in the shape of a grinning skull.
珊莎不安地扭动，“那是什么剑？”
Sansa stirred in her seat. “What sword is that?”
提利昂的眼睛依旧被葡萄酒刺痛，他努力眨巴，以求看清楚。伊林爵士的配剑与寒冰一样长而宽阔，但色彩并非瓦雷利亚钢的沉暗如烟，而是发出银色光泽。珊莎抓住丈夫的胳膊，“他把我父亲的剑怎样了？”
Tyrion’s eyes still stung from the wine. He blinked and looked again. Ser Ilyn’s greatsword was as long and wide as Ice, but it was too silvery-bright; Valyrian steel had a darkness to it, a smokiness in its soul. Sansa clutched his arm. “What has Ser Ilyn done with my father’s sword?”
我该把寒冰还给罗柏·史塔克，提利昂心想，他瞥向父亲，但泰温公爵的注意力全放在国王身上。
I should have sent Ice back to Robb Stark, Tyrion thought. He glanced at his father, but Lord Tywin was watching the king.
乔佛里和玛格丽协力举起那柄巨剑，猛然挥下，划出一道银弧。馅饼皮破开的同时，一百只白鸽迫不及待地冲出来，向各个方向乱飞，最后拍翅站到窗户和房梁上，空中都是飞散的羽毛。大厅内欢声雷动，旁听席上的提琴和风笛奏出轻快的乐章。小乔抱起新娘，快乐地转圈。
Joffrey and Margaery joined hands to lift the greatsword and swung it down together in a silvery arc. When the piecrust broke, the doves burst forth in a swirl of white feathers, scattering in every direction, flapping for the windows and the rafters. A roar of delight went up from the benches, and the fiddlers and pipers in the gallery began to play a sprightly tune. Joff took his bride in his arms, and whirled her around merrily.
一名仆人将一片鸽子馅饼放到提利昂面前，并撒上一勺柠檬乳酪。馅饼是用真正的鸽子做的，但他讨厌它们就跟讨厌它们那些四处拉屎的同类一样。珊莎也没开动。“你脸色苍白得厉害，”提利昂道，“呼吸点新鲜空气吧，里面太闷了。而我也该换身衣服。”他站起来，握住妻子的手，“来吧。”
A serving man placed a slice of hot pigeon pie in front of Tyrion and covered it with a spoon of lemon cream. The pigeons were well and truly cooked in this pie, but he found them no more appetizing than the white ones fluttering about the hall. Sansa was not eating either. “You’re deathly pale, my lady,” Tyrion said. “You need a breath of cool air, and I need a fresh doublet.” He stood and offered her his hand. “Come.”
可乔佛里又回来了，“舅舅，想上哪儿去啊？你是我的侍酒，不准走！”
But before they could make their retreat, Joffrey was back. “Uncle, where are you going? You’re my cupbearer, remember?”
“我得换身衣服，陛下，可以先告退吗？”
“I need to change into fresh garb, Your Grace. May I have your leave?”
“不行，我喜欢你现在这个样子。给我倒酒。”
“No. I like the look of you this way. Serve me my wine.”
国王的金杯还在桌上，提利昂爬上座椅，将它捧起。小乔伸手抓过，深饮一口，他的喉咙不住吞咽，紫色的酒液流过下巴。“陛下，”玛格丽求道，“我们该回去了，布克威尔大人要来祝酒呢。”
The king’s chalice was on the table where he’d left it. Tyrion had to climb back onto his chair to reach it. Joff yanked it from his hands and drank long and deep, his throat working as the wine ran purple down his chin. “My lord,” Margaery said, “we should return to our places. Lord Buckler wants to toast us.”
“我舅舅没吃馅饼，”国王一手握住杯子，一手捣鼓饼子，“这不吉利。”责骂之余，他胡乱抓起一把塞进嘴里。“瞧，很好吃，”他吞下热腾腾的香料鸽子馅饼，嘴里呛出些许脆皮，随后又抓了一把。“干，有点干，得冲下去。”小乔又饮一口酒，然后开始咳嗽。“我要你，咳，骑那只，咳咳，猪，舅舅，我要你……”他的话语被咳嗽声打断。
“My uncle hasn’t eaten his pigeon pie.” Holding the chalice one-handed, Joff jammed his other into Tyrion’s pie. “It’s ill luck not to eat the pie,” he scolded as he filled his mouth with hot spiced pigeon. “See, it’s good.” Spitting out flakes of crust, he coughed and helped himself to another fistful. “Dry, though. Needs washing down.” Joff took a swallow of wine and coughed again, more violently. “I want to see, kof, see you ride that, kof kof, pig, Uncle. I want …” His words broke up in a fit of coughing.
玛格丽关切地望着丈夫，“陛下？”
Margaery looked at him with concern. “Your Grace?”
“是，咳，馅饼，没关——咳——系。”小乔再喝一口酒，但当又一阵咳嗽猛然降临时，所有汁液都喷将出来。他的脸色越涨越红。“我，咳，无法，咳咳咳咳……”金杯自手中滑落，暗红的葡萄酒流淌在高台上。
“It’s, kof, the pie, noth—kof, pie.” Joff took another drink, or tried to, but all the wine came spewing back out when another spate of coughing doubled him over. His face was turning red. “I, kof, I can’t, kof kof kof kof …” The chalice slipped from his hand and dark red wine went running across the dais.
“他噎住了！”玛格丽王后惊呼。
“He’s choking,” Queen Margaery gasped.
她的祖母迅速靠拢。“快帮帮这可怜的孩子！”荆棘女王以比身材高十倍的嗓门尖叫，“你们这帮白痴！只会张口结舌傻站着看吗！快帮帮你们的国王！”
Her grandmother moved to her side. “Help the poor boy!” the Queen of Thorns screeched, in a voice ten times her size. “Dolts! Will you all stand about gaping? Help your king!”
加兰爵士推开提利昂，来为乔佛里捶背。奥斯蒙·凯特布莱克爵士割开国王的衣领。这孩子从咽喉深处发出细得吓人、充满恐惧的嘶声，就像一个人想用一根芦苇饮尽一条长江，随后竟连这也消失了，只剩恐怖的沉寂。“把他翻过来！”梅斯·提利尔手足无措地大吼，“把他翻过来，提起脚跟抖！”另一个嗓门吼的则是，“水，给他喝水！”总主教高声祈祷，派席尔国师嚷着命人扶自己回去取药。乔佛里伸手抓向喉咙，指甲在皮肤上挖出道道血痕，然而下面的肌肉硬得像岩石。托曼王子哭哭啼啼。
Ser Garlan shoved Tyrion aside and began to pound Joffrey on the back. Ser Osmund Kettleblack ripped open the king’s collar. A fearful high thin sound emerged from the boy’s throat, the sound of a man trying to suck a river through a reed; then it stopped, and that was more terrible still. “Turn him over!” Mace Tyrell bellowed at everyone and no one. “Turn him over, shake him by his heels!” A different voice was calling, “Water, give him some water!” The High Septon began to pray loudly. Grand Maester Pycelle shouted for someone to help him back to his chambers, to fetch his potions. Joffrey began to claw at his throat, his nails tearing bloody gouges in the flesh. Beneath the skin, the muscles stood out hard as stone. Prince Tommen was screaming and crying.
他快死了，提利昂领悟过来。尽管周遭充满各种混乱喧嚣与狂暴，自己却奇特地镇静。这会儿有好几个人在给小乔捶背，但国王的脸色越来越黑。狗儿吠叫，孩童嚎啕，大人们彼此呼喊桩桩毫无意义的建议。一半的宾客站了起来，有的推挤过来想看清楚，有的则忙着溜出门去。
He is going to die, Tyrion realized. He felt curiously calm, though pandemonium raged all about him. They were pounding Joff on the back again, but his face was only growing darker. Dogs were barking, children were wailing, men were shouting useless advice at each other. Half the wedding guests were on their feet, some shoving at each other for a better view, others rushing for the doors in their haste to get away.
马林爵士掰开国王的嘴巴，将一支勺子伸进咽喉深处探察。就在这时，国王的眼睛对上提利昂的目光。他有詹姆的眼睛。但詹姆从不会如此惧怕。毕竟他才十三岁呢。乔佛里的喉头挤出一下干燥、粗嘎的声音，似乎是要说话。他眼白突出，神色恐怖，提起一只手……指向舅舅，指向……他是要请求我的原谅吗？或者认为我能拯救他？“不不不不，”瑟曦嘶声哭嚎，“天父啊，救救他吧，谁来救救他啊，他是我儿子，我儿子……”
Ser Meryn pried the king’s mouth open to jam a spoon down his throat. As he did, the boy’s eyes met Tyrion’s. He has Jaime’s eyes. Only he had never seen Jaime look so scared. The boy’s only thirteen. Joffrey was making a dry clacking noise, trying to speak. His eyes bulged white with terror, and he lifted a hand … reaching for his uncle, or pointing … Is he begging my forgiveness, or does he think I can save him? “Noooo,” Cersei wailed, “Father help him, someone help him, my son, my son …”
提利昂不由自主地思及罗柏·史塔克。事后看来，我的婚礼还算幸运。他想看珊莎的反应，但厅内一片混乱，不见夫人踪影。最后，他的目光落到那只被遗忘在地板的金杯上，便把它捡了起来，底部还有少许深紫色酒液。提利昂考虑了一会儿，将它倒光了。
Tyrion found himself thinking of Robb Stark. My own wedding is looking much better in hindsight. He looked to see how Sansa was taking this, but there was so much confusion in the hall that he could not find her. But his eyes fell on the wedding chalice, forgotten on the floor. He went and scooped it up. There was still a half-inch of deep purple wine in the bottom of it. Tyrion considered it a moment, then poured it on the floor.
玛格丽·提利尔倒在祖母怀中啜泣，“勇敢些，勇敢些，”老妇人呢喃道。泰半的乐师业已逃离，只有一个笛手留在旁听席里奏出一曲挽歌。王座厅底部的大门边，爆发了混战，宾客们互相践踏争夺，亚当爵士的金袍军连忙上前维持秩序。客人们不顾一切地冲向黑夜，有的哭泣，有的踉跄，有的呕吐，惨白的脸上写满恐惧。明智的选择是赶紧离开，提利昂迟钝地想。
Margaery Tyrell was weeping in her grandmother’s arms as the old lady said, “Be brave, be brave.” Most of the musicians had fled, but one last flutist in the gallery was blowing a dirge. In the rear of the throne room scuffling had broken out around the doors, and the guests were trampling on each other. Ser Addam’s gold cloaks moved in to restore order. Guests were rushing headlong out into the night, some weeping, some stumbling and retching, others white with fear. It occurred to Tyrion belatedly that it might be wise to leave himself.
当他听到瑟曦的惨叫时，明白一切都结束了。
When he heard Cersei’s scream, he knew that it was over.
我也该离开的。相反，他蹒跚着走过去，走向他的姐姐。
I should leave. Now. Instead he waddled toward her.
太后瘫倒在一滩酒水里，怀抱着儿子冰冷的身躯。她的裙服破烂脏污，她的脸颊白如垩石。一只瘦黑狗爬到她身边，舔嗅小乔的尸体。“这孩子去了，瑟曦，”泰温公爵把戴手套的手放在女儿肩上，手下卫士则将狗赶开，“松手，让他走吧。”作母亲的浑然不觉，两名御林铁卫协力才把她手指掰开，于是七国之君乔佛里·拜拉席恩一世的尸体就这样柔软地、毫无声息地滑倒在王座厅的地板上。
His sister sat in a puddle of wine, cradling her son’s body. Her gown was torn and stained, her face white as chalk. A thin black dog crept up beside her, sniffing at Joffrey’s corpse. “The boy is gone, Cersei,” Lord Tywin said. He put his gloved hand on his daughter’s shoulder as one of his guardsmen shooed away the dog. “Unhand him now. Let him go.” She did not hear. It took two Kingsguard to pry loose her fingers, so the body of King Joffrey Baratheon could slide limp and lifeless to the floor.
总主教跪在死去的君主身边，“天上的圣父啊，求你公正地裁判我们的好国王乔佛里吧，”他拖长声音吟咏，开始作临终祷告。玛格丽·提利尔哭出声来，她母亲艾勒莉夫人则安慰道，“他噎住了，亲爱的，他被馅饼噎住了，不是你的错。他噎住了，我们都瞧见的。”
The High Septon knelt beside him. “Father Above, judge our good King Joffrey justly,” he intoned, beginning the prayer for the dead. Margaery Tyrell began to sob, and Tyrion heard her mother Lady Alerie saying, “He choked, sweetling. He choked on the pie. It was naught to do with you. He choked. We all saw.”
“他没有噎住，”瑟曦的音调比伊林爵士的宝剑更锋利，“我儿子是被毒死的。”她扫视无助地环绕在周围的白骑士，“御林铁卫们，履行职责。”
“He did not choke.” Cersei’s voice was sharp as Ser Ilyn’s sword. “My son was poisoned.” She looked to the white knights standing helplessly around her. “Kingsguard, do your duty.”
“夫人？”洛拉斯·提利尔爵士狐疑地询问。
“My lady?” said Ser Loras Tyrell, uncertain.
“立刻逮捕我弟弟，”她下令，“是他干的，这侏儒和他的小妻子。他俩害了我儿子，害了你们的国王。抓住他们！抓住他们！”
“Arrest my brother,” she commanded him. “He did this, the dwarf. Him and his little wife. They killed my son. Your king. Take them! Take them both!”
