The executioner, therefore, raised his hand until his arm-pit appeared, and was about to strike off his head, when loud cries were heard, and, the people closed their shops. So the King said to the executioner, Hasten not. And he sent a person to learn the news for him; and the messenger went, and, soon returning, said to the King, I beheld an army like the roaring sea agitated with waves; their horses are prancing, and the earth trembleth beneath them, and I know not wherefore they are come. And the King was amazed, and feared lest he should be deposed from his throne. He then said to his Wezeer, Have none of our troops gone forth to meet this army? But his words were not finished when his chamberlains came in to him accompanied by the messengers of the approaching King, and among them was the Wezeer who had been with Táj-el-Mulook. He commenced by salutation; and the King rose to him, and, calling them near to him, asked them respecting the cause of their coming: whereupon the Wezeer advanced from among them, and approached the King, and said to him, Know that he who hath alighted in thy territories is a King not like the Kings who have preceded him, nor like the Sulṭáns of former times.—And who is he? said the King. The Wezeer answered, He is the lord of justice and security, the fame of whose magnanimity the caravans have spread abroad, the Sulṭán Suleymán Sháh, the lord of El-Arḍ el-Khaḍrà and El-'Amoodeyn and the mountains of Iṣpahán, who loveth justice and equity, and hateth tyranny and oppression; and he saith to thee, that his son is in thy dominions and in thy city, and he is the vital spirit of his heart, and its delight; and if he find him in safety, it is what he desireth, and thou wilt be thanked and praised; but if he be not found in thy country, or if any evil hath befallen him, receive tidings of destruction and of the ruin of thy territories; for thy country shall become a desert in which the raven shall croak. Thus I have delivered to thee the message; and peace be on thee.—When the King Sháh-Zemán heard these words of the envoy, his heart was troubled, and he feared for his kingdom, and called out to the lords of his empire, and his wezeers and chamberlains and lieutenants; and when they had come before him he said to them, Wo unto you! Go down and search for this young man.—But he was under the hand of the executioner, and his appearance was changed through the fear that he suffered. The Wezeer then, looking aside, found the King's son upon the skin of blood,[71] and he recognised him, and arose, and threw himself upon him. So also did the other messengers: they then unbound him, and kissed his hands and his feet; whereupon Táj-el-Mulook opened his eyes, and, recognising the Wezeer and his companion 'Azeez, fell down in a swoon through the excess of his joy at their presence.
The King Sháh-Zemán was perplexed at his situation, and in great fear, on discovering that the coming of the army was on account of this young man; and he arose and walked forward to Táj-el-Mulook, and kissed his head, and, with weeping eyes, said to him, O my son, be not angry with me: be not angry with the evil-doer for his deed; but have compassion on my gray hairs, and lay not waste my dominions. And Táj-el-Mulook approached him, and kissed his hand, saying to him, No harm shall befall thee; for thou art in my estimation as my father; but beware that no evil befall my beloved, the lady Dunyà.—O my lord, rejoined the King, fear not for her; for nought but happiness awaiteth her. And he proceeded to excuse himself to him, and to soothe the mind of the Wezeer of the King Suleymán Sháh, promising him a large sum of money that he might conceal from the King what he had seen; after which he ordered the grandees of his empire to take Táj-el-Mulook and to conduct him to the bath, to clothe him in a suit of the best of royal apparel, and bring him back quickly. So they did this: they conducted him into the bath, and, having clad him in the suit which the King Sháh-Zemán had allotted him, brought him back to the hall of audience; and when he came in, the King rose to him, he and all the lords of his empire, and they all stood to wait upon him. Then Táj-el-Mulook sat and conversed with his father's Wezeer and with 'Azeez respecting the events which had happened to him; and they replied, During that period we went to thy father, and informed him that thou hadst entered the palace of the King's daughter, and not come forth from it, and that thy case appeared doubtful to us; and when he heard this, he made ready the troops, and we came to this country, and on our arrival have experienced joy and happiness. So he said to them, Good fortune hath attended your actions, first and last.
The King, in the meantime, had gone into his daughter, the lady Dunyà, and found her weeping for Táj-el-Mulook. She had taken a sword, and put its hilt to the floor, and its point to the middle of her bosom, and was leaning over it, saying, I must kill myself, and not live after my beloved. When her father, therefore, went in to her, and beheld her in this state, he called out to her, and said, O mistress of the daughters of Kings, do it not; but have mercy upon thy father and the people of thy country! Then advancing to her, he said to her, I conjure thee to abstain, lest evil befall thy father on thy account. And he acquainted her with the case, telling her that her beloved, the son of the King Suleymán Sháh, desired to celebrate his marriage with her, and adding, The affair of the betrothal and marriage is committed to thy judgment. And she smiled, and said to him, Did I not tell thee that he was the son of a Sulṭán? I will make him crucify thee upon a piece of wood worth a couple of pieces of silver.I conjure thee by Allah, he exclaimed, that thou have mercy upon thy father!—Go to him, she rejoined, and bring him to me. He replied, On the head and the eye. And he returned from her quickly, and, going in to Táj-el-Mulook, rejoiced him by what he said. He then arose with him, and went to her again; and when she beheld Táj-el-Mulook, she embraced him in the presence of her father, and clung to him, and said to him, Thou hast made me desolate by thine absence. Then looking at her father, she said, Can any one act injuriously towards such a person as this handsome youth, and he a King, a son of a King? And upon this the King Sháh-Zemán went forth, and closed the door upon them, and, repairing to the Wezeer and the other messengers of the father of Táj-el-Mulook, ordered them to inform the Sulṭán Suleymán Sháh that his son was in prosperity and health, and enjoying a life of the utmost delight. He gave orders also to carry forth provisions and pay to the troops of the Sulṭán Suleymán Sháh; and after they had conveyed all that he commanded them to take forth, he brought out a hundred coursers, and a hundred dromedaries, and a hundred memlooks, and a hundred concubine slaves, and a hundred male black slaves, and a hundred female slaves, and sent them all to him as a present.
He then repaired to him, with the lords of his empire, and his chief attendants, and they proceeded until they arrived outside the city; and when the Sulṭán Suleymán Sháh became acquainted with this he advanced some paces to meet him. The Wezeer and 'Azeez had informed him of the news, and he rejoiced, and exclaimed, Praise be to God who hath granted my son the accomplishment of his wish! And he embraced the King Sháh-Zemán, and seated him by his side upon the couch, and they conversed together; after which the attendants placed before; them the food, and when they had eaten to satisfaction they brought them the sweetmeats. Soon after, Táj-el-Mulook came, approaching in his rich and ornamented dress; and when his father beheld him, he rose to him and kissed him, and all who were present rose to him; and after he had sat with them a while conversing, the King Suleymán Sháh said, I desire to perform my son's contract of marriage to thy daughter in the presence of witnesses. And King Sháh-Zemán replied, I hear and obey. So he summoned the Ḳáḍee and witnesses, and they came, and wrote the marriage-contract; and the troops rejoiced at this. And King Sháh-Zemán began to fit out his daughter.
Then Táj-el-Mulook said to his father, Verily, 'Azeez is a generous person; he hath performed for me a great service, and wearied himself, and journeyed with me, and enabled me to attain the object of my search, ceasing not to exhort me to patience until I accomplished my wish, and he hath been with us two years separated from his country: it is my desire, therefore, that we should prepare for him merchandise; for his country is near. His father replied, Thy opinion is excellent. So they prepared for him a hundred loads of the most costly stuffs; and Táj-el-Mulook bade him farewell, saying to him, O my brother, accept this as a present. And he accepted it, and kissed the ground before him and before his father. Táj-el-Mulook then mounted his horse, and proceeded with 'Azeez for the space of three miles; after which, 'Azeez conjured him to return, and said, Were it not for my mother, I could not endure thy separation; and by Allah, I entreat thee not to cease acquainting me with thy state. Having thus said, he bade him farewell, and repaired to his city. He found that his mother had built for him a tomb in the midst of the house, and she frequently visited it; and when he entered the house, he found that she had dishevelled her hair and spread it upon the tomb, and, with streaming eyes, was reciting these verses:—
By Allah, O tomb, have his charms perished; and hath that brilliant countenance changed? O tomb, thou art neither a garden nor a firmament: how then can the full moon and flowers be united in thee?
She then groaned, and recited some other verses; but before she had finished, 'Azeez went in to her: and when she beheld him, she rose to him and embraced him, and asked him respecting his long absence: so he acquainted her with all the events that had happened to him from first to last, and told her that Táj-el-Mulook had given him, of wealth and stuffs, a hundred loads; and she rejoiced at this.—Such was the history of 'Azeez.
Now as to Táj-el-Mulook, he returned to his beloved, the lady Dunyà, and King Sháh-Zemán fitted her out for the journey with her husband and her father-in-law: he sent to them provisions and presents and rarities, and they loaded their beasts and departed; and King Sháh-Zemán accompanied them three days' journey to bid them farewell. The King Suleymán Sháh then conjured him to return: so he returned; and Táj-el-Mulook and his father and his wife continued their journey night and day until they came in sight of their country. The city was decorated for them, and they entered it; and the King Suleymán Sháh sat upon his throne with his son Táj-el-Mulook by his side; and he gave presents, and liberated the persons confined in the prisons; after which he celebrated for his son a second wedding-festivity: the songs and instrumental music were continued for a whole month, and the tire-women crowded around the lady Dunyà, and she was not tired with the display, nor were they with gazing at her. Táj-el-Mulook then took up his abode with her, after an interview with his father and mother together; and they passed a life of the utmost delight and enjoyment.