Chapter 28. Crowning my Queen.

King Jing Zheng's POV.

Today, I planned the day to crown my queen. She deserves it, doesn't she? She came to my palace in her beautiful white dress. It had beautiful red floral embroidery. Her hair was tied back. Her makeup was perfect the way I like it. When she walks, her graceful aura fills the entire room.

She smiled when she came to me. My mother and grandmother were on our right. And my three concubines were on the left. "Happy birthday," I said, already mesmerized by her beauty. She looked perfect today.

"Thank you," she replied with her amazing smile.

"What's so special about today?" she asked. "What's the surprise?" she added.

I smiled at her beautiful face and said, "What's the rush, Pragya? Let's read the decree now," as I said this, I signaled Cheng Gu to read the decree.

Cheng Gu continued:

"*Lady Pragya of India was His Majesty's fourth concubine during the past year. However, after seeing her qualifications as a military general in the Imperial Army and as His Majesty's Chief adviser, it is decided that she will be appointed Queen of Qin State and His Majesty's other provinces. Decree completed."*

Cheng Gu completed the decree. She started crying. She's always like that. She is too emotional. I thought it was a tear of joy, as she always says. Another sudden, terrifying confession came out that shocked me and broke my heart for not reviving. She began to speak.

"Before I am crowned queen, I must confess," she said. I thought it was a confession of love. But no. It wasn't at all.

"I do not deserve all this praise, your honor. Instead, I must be punished. You must punish me with the death sentence. I have sinned in a way that cannot be forgiven. The sins I have committed cannot be washed away. Even the river Ganges (a river considered sacred and believed to wash away the sins of sinners in Indian society.) cannot wash away my sin." she said. I was confused. Confession of sin? On this day? What could it be? I was perplexed.

"What are you talking about, Pragya?" I asked, surprised by her words.

"I have broken our promise, your majesty," she said. I was shocked. I know how much she values promises. I have betrayed you, my dear sir," I could not believe what I was hearing.

"What did you say?" I hoped she was joking. But I won't.

"I helped Jing Ke escape, Your Honor. That day, during the war, I saw my former lover in the war. But I couldn't believe it. I couldn't tell you about it. How could I? You were happy to win. I didn't want to spoil it. But I wanted to be sure about Samrat. It burned me, living with Samrat's doubts. So I planned my kidnapping and went to meet Samrat. But he doesn't remember me," she cried. I couldn't believe that Pragya would do something like this behind my back. It was painful.

"He made me suffer to death. But you came to save me. You released Jing Ke for my safety. I owe you, my king. Even after I returned to the palace, you didn't fail to make me smile and happy these days. I don't deserve your love, your honor. Please punish me.

"According to your law, if someone aided or abetted the escape of a criminal, their punishment is death, right? Then punish me. Punish me, your majesty," she said. I couldn't help myself. I slapped her face. She just cried nothing else.

"You conspired against me. You helped my enemy escape. You even planned your own kidnapping. What kind of witch are you? You know how stressed I was when you weren't home. Do you know how many sleepless nights I spent thinking about you? But you were in Han State with your illegal boyfriend. I can't believe you fooled me all this time. You're really smart!" I couldn't resist the fire of hatred in my heart. I loved her with all my heart. It's crazy.

She stopped me saying: "I promise you, your honor, even though I made this mistake, my love for you is pure and true. I loved you with all my heart, my king. Fate once made me yours. I can't erase you from my heart Do you remember the day you told me that I can misunderstand you? Do you remember you promised me that you love me and care for me? That was the real moment I fell in love with you. Since then I love and love you with all my heart. Whether you are with me or not that will remain the law that rules my heart." she said. These words made me even angrier than at other times. Her words calmed me down, but not anymore.

"Stop this nonsense, Lady Pragya," said the grandmother. I know she will use this opportunity to scold Pragya. But this time I did not dare to defend her.

"His Majesty loved you and trusted you wholeheartedly. Thanks to you, he didn't even listen to his top advisors. But you betrayed him. You even helped a wanted criminal escape by pretending to kidnap you. If I were you, I would leave the palace maybe as soon as possible," she said.

"Even though you are a witch, I respect the times we spent together. I don't dare to punish you for your crime," I said. With that blink of an eye, I heard Lady Lan's voice behind me.

"Your honor, it is unfair to release her. The law is made for everyone. Every Qin citizen must be applied equally to everyone," I hate it when people use me for their selfish interests.

"Will you please be quiet, Mrs. Lan. Don't think of yourself as a saint."

I turned to Pragya who was crying uncontrollably in front of me. "I don't want to see you in my province anymore. You heard me, didn't you? Get out!" I shouted out of earshot.

"After this moment I don't know the girl named Pragya. All our relationships are broken. You are no longer my concubine. One more thing, don't try to get in my way. If you do, I won't think twice about killing you." I said.

"Get out of my sight," I shouted.

This time my mother intervened. Pragya has been her favorite since day one.

"My son, please! think it over calmly. Pragya must have a reason for this. And I think it will be useful for you. Don't be too quick to fire her from here. This is not good for you, my son," she begged me.

My mother is always like this. Always against me. She has always supported others since childhood, except me. Even today, though she heard this story from Pragya herself, she chose to support Pragya and not me. I don't know what I did wrong to have a mother like her.

"You must be sensible, Ting Lu. She made a mistake and will be punished. Don't get emotional," said the grandmother. When my mother decided to support Pragya, an outsider supported me.

"Grandma is right, mother. I don't want Pragya in my life anymore" I said looking into her eyes. Her eyes were red with tears. But I couldn't understand her even looking at her in that state.

She opened her mouth to finally speak. "I know, what I did to you is unforgivable. But I'm human too. I was wrong to be emotional. This is my biggest weakness. Sorry, I am really sorry, My King. Tell me you are forgiven me and let my soul rest in peace," she bowed. I know she is an egotist. Her self-respect and self-righteousness are important to her. Although her condition and apology made me understand that she was sorry, I could not forgive her.

"I have nothing to give you, Pragya Singh Rathore. Neither my love nor my forgiveness. Soldiers!" I called them.

"Take her away. I don't want her anywhere in Qin State. If anyone finds her in Qin, destroy her without a second thought," I ordered them. Even though mom asked, I sent Pragya away. of the palace and Qin. I never thought our story would end like this. But she wanted it to end this way.

When I got to my chamber, I heard that my mother had arrived. I let her in.

"Zheng, when will you learn to make the right decision? When? When? You'll regret it one day. You never listen to me. The time will come for you to beg for forgiveness like she did today." she shouted at me. It was clear that she was not happy with my decision.

"Mom, are you kidding me? When did you support me when I was in trouble? When did you teach me to make the right decision? Wasn't that your decision as Ting Ming's wife? To leave my father, wasn't that your decision? So who blames me for firing my concubine? I learned everything from you, mother," I said angrily.

"That's another story, Zheng. I did what I did for you. Do you think I betrayed your father? Do you really think so? Don't you know how much I loved your father?" she said crying.

"I thought! But you broke all my respect when you slept with Ting Ming in my father's bed. For me, there was no one like my mother. A lovely, understanding mother and wife. But you shattered the picture of my mother, that's it," she rekindled my locked emotions.

"You see, Zheng, that's your problem. You believe what you see, not the good thoughts behind a bad deed. That day I heard about your father's death and I broke down. That day was the first and last day, which I hated to live on earth. Then my friend told me that the chief of the Zhou forces had fallen in love with me. I thought this was my chance to avenge your father and give you a better life. That's why I accepted the offer that Ting Ming made me.

"Do you think it was easy for me to sleep with Ting Ming? Do you think I like to be mocked by Ting Su? You think I wouldn't have missed your father all these years. But I did all this for you, son. I did it for you so that you would be the king. But not the way you became. What made me sick all these years was that you misunderstood me. But Pragya, that poor girl, made me feel better. She was lovely. What can I say?" she told her side of the story.

I was shocked. I felt like a fool. Yes, I am. I didn't understand my mother all these years. All my life I have misunderstood her as a fraud. But she sacrificed her life and feelings for me to be king. I couldn't say anything but give her a huge hug. After a long time, I felt my mother's warm and loving breath for her and me after so many decades.