Halat-i Asad Beg 8.3

8.3

The next day that chosen one of Allah, not dreaming of the treachery of his foes, went, as was his wont, to pay his respects at Court, and entered a boat with several of his attendants. They had reached the foot of the tower, and were about to disembark, when Mir Ziau-l Mulk of Kazwin arrived in great agitation, and jumped into the boat. He brought word of the hopeless state of the Emperor, and of the treachery and perfidy of those evil men. The boat returned, and His Royal Highness, with weeping eyes and a sore heart, re-entered his private palace. So that, through the endeavours of that faithful friend and sincere well-wisher, the arrow of those perfidious enemies missed its mark. When the raw attempt of those wretches had thus been brought to light, and the lofty-flying phoenix had escaped their treacherous snare, and the curtain which concealed their intentions had been torn, they were obliged to throw off all dissimulation. At that time the breath was still in the Emperor’s body, and all his servants and officers were assembled in the audience-room in great distress and agitation. The Khan-i ’Azam and Raja Man Singh sat down, and calling all the nobles together, began to consult with them, and went so far as to say, “The character of the high and mighty Prince Sultan Salim is well known, and the Emperor’s feelings towards him are notorious; for he by no means wishes him to be his successor.