Eddard realized the severity of the situation. He immediately ordered the defense of the Tower of the Hand to be strengthened and sent people to notify Renly and other nobles loyal to Baratheon.
Unfortunately, he still underestimated Cersei and the power of Lannister in Kings Landing. The time afforded by that night was enough for their opponents to prepare everything.
The next day, news of Robert's death spread quickly. Eddard urgently convened the Small Council, but when he arrived at the council hall, he found Joffrey already seated on the iron throne.
Cersei stood beside the throne with the entire Kingsguard, along with all the nobles supporting the House Lannister and several Small Councilors, but Renly, the Master of Laws, was absent.
It turned out that after Eddard told Renly about his meeting with Cersei yesterday, the Duke of Storms End knew the tide had turned. He understood the strength of Lannister in Kings Landing better than Eddard did.
Originally, if they could have taken the Lannister people in Kings Landing by surprise, the iron throne might still have been theirs, but now Eddard had alerted the House Lannister.
Renly knew that even joining forces with Eddard would be futile, so he fled Kings Landing overnight with his men, heading back to Storms End. Before leaving, he sent a letter to Eddard, trying to persuade him to leave quickly too, but unfortunately, the letter was intercepted by Lannister men halfway.
Just as Eddard stepped into the council hall, Grand Maester Pycelle, standing beside Joffrey, spoke tremulously, "According to law and tradition, Prince Joffrey should be crowned King."
"I object." Eddard stepped forward. "Before His Grace Robert died, he explicitly named Renly Baratheon as his heir. I have the King's will, and furthermore, I have reason to doubt Joffrey's parentage."
The council hall erupted in an uproar. At this moment, Cersei's expression shifted constantly.
"You say Renly is the rightful heir, so where is he now? As for your suspicion regarding Prince Joffrey's identity, this is a serious accusation, a treasonous statement, Lord Stark." Cersei said coldly. "Do you have any proof?"
"I have the investigation conducted by Lord Jon Arryn."
"The wild ramblings of a dead man," Cersei interrupted him. "They are not enough to stain the Prince's reputation. I now announce, in my capacity as Queen Regent, that Joffrey Baratheon is the King of the Seven Kingdoms, to be crowned tomorrow. As for you, if you continue to doubt Prince Joffrey's identity, then you will be committing treason."
Eddard did not want to argue with her.
"Leave now. This is my final warning," he finally said.
Cersei suddenly smiled. "You are the one who should leave, Lord Stark."
"Seize them," Eddard ordered calmly.
Eddard was still naive at this point; he had specifically brought two hundred Gold Cloaks for this matter today. After all, nominally, the Gold Cloaks obeyed the hand of the king.
However, the moment Eddard gave the order, the two captains of the Gold Cloaks simultaneously looked toward Cersei on the dais, after exchanging glances.
They rushed directly at Eddard. He drew his sword in haste to resist, but he was outnumbered. A sword struck his leg, he stumbled and fell, and his sword was knocked away.
And the dozen or so Northern guards he brought were quickly lying in pools of blood, following the Gold Cloaks' attack from behind.
Jaime stepped forward, pressing his sword tip against Eddard's throat. "Surrender, Stark. For your children."
Eddard looked up, his pupils suddenly contracting. He saw Sansa, who had been brought in sometime earlier, being held by a Gold Cloak, her face white with terror.
"Father," Sansa cried out to Eddard.
Just then, Janos Slynt, the Commander of the Kings Landing City Watch, appeared at the hall entrance.
He first bowed deeply towards the iron throne, then reported in a fawning voice, "Your Grace Joffrey, the family members of the rebellious former hand of the king, House Stark, have all been captured, and the rebels within the Tower of the Hand have all been dealt with."
As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Eddard, who was being held in the center of the hall, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. After all, when this Duke of the North first took office, he wanted to remove him for embezzling a small sum, but fortunately, Robert strongly backed him then, allowing him to keep his position.
Eddard recalled what Robert had told him then: "This Janos Slynt, he might be a greedy bastard, yes, but he's our greedy bastard. Varys says he has two thousand men under him. When the time comes, two thousand soldiers might come in handy."
If he had insisted on investigating and prosecuting him back then, the outcome might have been different.
This was yet another regret Eddard had since arriving in Kings Landing.
"Good, well done." Joffrey, who had long been restless on the iron throne, excitedly jumped up upon hearing Janos's words. "That's excellent."
Eddard was ultimately captured alive and thrown into the Black Cells.
The next day, the coronation ceremony was held as scheduled at the Great Sept of Baelor. Joffrey Baratheon was anointed, crowned, and became the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
And Eddard Stark, the former hand of the king, was charged with treason.
For the next few days, Eddard suffered torment while imprisoned in the Black Cells. Cersei continuously sent people to persuade him, wanting him to publicly confess his crimes.
Meanwhile, the Gold Cloaks in Kings Landing were still searching for Eddard's other daughter and his bastard son. When the Gold Cloaks captured the Tower of the Hand that day, they only caught Sansa.
Cersei even sent Sansa to the cell; she wanted to use Sansa to persuade Eddard to surrender. After all, only if Eddard personally acknowledged Joffrey would Joffrey truly be the legitimate heir, allowing the Lannisters to rightfully hold power.
"Father, please confess." Sansa knelt outside the iron bars, her clothes soaked with tears, pleading desperately. "Acknowledge Joffrey as the rightful King and swear fealty to him, and they will release you. Joffrey promised me that if you confess, he will allow you to join the Nights Watch."
Eddard looked at his daughter's swollen eyes, his heart twisting in pain.
He knew Sansa was in love with Joffrey, or rather, she was in love with the Prince she imagined him to be. She was still young and did not understand the truth or the cruelty of this game.
"Sansa," he said hoarsely. "Joffrey is not the legitimate King. He and his siblings are bastards, born of incest between Cersei and Jaime."
"No, that's not true!" Sansa screamed. "You are lying! The Queen says you are lying."
Eddard realized that Cersei had completely controlled Sansa's mind.
This once innocent and romantic girl now only believed what she wanted to believe.
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