Seeing the Emperor sitting there in utter disbelief, Rupanjan let out a bitter smile and said, "Listen further, Your Majesty, the story does not end here... there is more."
Removing his hands from his forehead, the Emperor said with intense curiosity and wonder, "Yes, yes, Rupanjan, go on! I am listening to everything, tell me all of it."
Wiping away his tears, Rupanjan began to speak, "In truth, the reason I am standing here in your court today seeking work—it was she who practically forced me to come here. It is because of her that I have arrived at this unfamiliar royal palace today. A few days ago, she sent me a letter. After reading what she had written in that letter, it is impossible for any human being to remain calm. In the letter, she wrote clearly—'You just sit at home enjoying yourself on your father's money! Wandering here and there as you please, spending your days in forests or markets. You have no future in life! I do not want a man by my side who has no future, who is not established in life. You don't even have the sense or knowledge of how to feed yourself, yet you entered into a relationship with me! Have you forgotten who I am? I am the princess of this Junagarh kingdom! You wish to marry me, yet you sit idly without doing any work—I completely dislike all this.' She wrote so many other absurd and humiliating things, Your Majesty, that I cannot even bring myself to utter them! It struck my self-respect in the most dreadful way. As I mentioned to you a moment ago, Your Majesty, the most valuable thing in my life is my self-respect! To save that self-respect and to prove myself, I left my village and came to this neighboring kingdom. Only then did I meet you and arrive at this royal palace. But to tell you the truth, Your Majesty, even today I cannot comprehend—should I call this girl good, or completely evil? Because if she hadn't insulted me and pushed me so hard, I would never have stepped out in search of work today!"
Hearing Rupanjan's words, the Emperor shook his head and said with extreme gravity, "No, Rupanjan, you are absolutely right. If her intention was truly to send you off to work or see you established, she could have explained it to you with love and sweet words! After all, you consider her your future life partner, don't you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, exactly!" Rupanjan replied with a tone of lamentation, "She could have considered me her own and explained it with love! But no, she didn't do that. She arrogantly pointed her finger to show me where her royal stature lies and where a poor man like me belongs! She taunted me severely while bringing up the topic of work. I never want to go back to her, Your Majesty! All I wanted was to stand on my own feet and become established, and today I am truly established! I am deeply happy that I have passed all three difficult tests given by you with honor. She also told me in the letter—'Unless you find work, do not step foot into the Junagarh kingdom ever again! Do not show me your face until you secure a job!' She hurled such grand words at me. It broke my heart just thinking how she could say such things to me despite being my own beloved. So, I made a firm vow in my heart—I will truly get a job and prove my worth! And look, Your Majesty, today I have truly succeeded and secured a job. But I will never go out of my way to show my face to her again. Now she will be the one running after me!"
Observing the turmoil and determination inside Rupanjan's mind, the Emperor pondered deeply for a moment. Then, placing a hand on Rupanjan's shoulder with immense affection, he said, "Shall I tell you a truth, Rupanjan? It might feel a bit painful for you to hear, but it is necessary for me to say it nonetheless. Forget this girl forever, Rupanjan! Such an uncivilized and wretched girl is not worthy of a righteous man like you! From what I have understood through your mannerisms, your conduct, your judgment, and your humble behavior—she may be a princess, but in terms of character, she isn't even worthy of the dust on your feet! I agree that the King and Queen of Junagarh are noble, righteous, and benevolent people. A child with a wonderful nature like theirs should have been born to them. But that Snigdha is so uncivilized, characterless, and disgraceful on the inside—had I not heard it from your mouth today, I would never have believed it! Perhaps King Aditya and Queen Arohi still do not have the slightest inkling of how deeply ruined their own daughter has become! Regardless, do not waste your invaluable time and life for this useless girl. Build a beautiful future for yourself. Weren't you saying a while ago—that upon receiving a good salary from the royal palace, you would help the poor and needy and feed them? Do just that. But do not waste another single moment behind that disgraceful girl. Erase her completely from your heart and your life; that is where your well-being lies. Because a girl who truly loves you could never go and spend the night with another man! And then to come and insult you in a letter with such rude language! She lacked the courage to say all this to your face because she knew very well that you would catch her truth. So, like a coward, she sent a letter to display her arrogance. It is far better that you remove her from your life permanently."
Hearing this wise and infallible advice from the Emperor, Rupanjan seemed to shed the very last bit of hesitation from his mind. Remaining silent for a moment, he said in a firm voice, "Yes, Your Majesty, you are absolutely right. I will try my best to forget her from my heart forever. Whatever else happens, I never want to accept such a characterless girl as my life partner! I do not wish to make my life a living hell by marrying a girl like her. A girl who treats me so abominably before marriage today—how much worse will she treat my simple and innocent parents after marriage tomorrow! Perhaps she wouldn't even offer my poor parents two meals a day or feed them, only insulting and driving them away for being a farmer's family! And to be honest, Your Majesty, I have severe doubts about whether she ever intended to marry me at all. She knew very well that I wouldn't easily find a job, so she intentionally wrote such a letter just so she could avoid me! Perhaps she wanted to imply behind the scenes that she did not want to accept a mere farmer's son like me as her husband! Perhaps that was my true crime—that I am the son of a poor farmer. No matter how grand I become through my own merit!"
A dry tear hung at the corner of Rupanjan's eye, but his jaw hardened with a new and resolute promise.