Master Kingmaker’s Devious Scheme
Marthanda Bhupathi walked around the garden outside the grand quarters that he had allotted for himself and his family as the kingdom’s chief minister, a hand stroking his beard. Anybody who knew him well, would know the gesture meant that Bhupathi was deep in thought, planning his evil strategies.
A spy had arrived early that morning to inform him that both the attempts on the princess’s life had been thwarted. Ponnan was almost on the verge of collapse when he arrived at the chief minister’s quarters before sunrise, knocking on the door rapidly despite the guard’s protest.
Bhupathi had himself come down to open the door, realising that it must be something urgent for someone to dare to disturb him at that time of the morning.
“What is it, Ponnan?” he barked at the spy on seeing him. That the man was swaying on his feet with exhaustion did not mean anything to Bhupathi.
“My Lord! Both Sokkan and Bairavan have been shut up in the dungeons of the Thanjavur fort.”
A string of curses burst forth from Bhupathi. “And the princess?”
“She is already on her way back to Azhagapuri!”
“Damn it all to hell!” Bhupathi swore as he swept an angry hand over a side table, the huge bronze vase which was standing on it, falling down with a resounding crash, the lilies in it crushed underneath while the water ran across the marble floor.
Ponnan was shaking by now, knowing for a fact that the chief minister was capable of killing the messenger who had brought him such awful news.
Fiery sparks flying from eyes turned red with rage, the chief minister snarled, “Did you meet either Sokkan or Bairavan?”
Ponnan bowed his head, too scared to meet his master’s angry gaze. “I tried, My Lord,” he mumbled, “but they would not let me inside the fort, let alone the dungeons. I did not linger too long as I wanted to get the message back to you as soon as possible.” He heartbeat swelled even as fear shook him while he worried about what Bhupathi might do to him.
“Go, before I kill you for bringing me such terrible news,” snarled Bhupathi, smashing his right fist into his left palm.
Ponnan did not have to be told twice before he fled from the spot.
The chief minister walked up and down the length of his garden, doing his best to calm down. After all, was it not only a tranquil mind that could bring order to chaos? And it was chaotic, the way the princess of Kongunadu appeared to have a charmed life. It would have been ideal if she had died as a child along with her parents. But Chamundeswari had gone for a picnic with that idiot Vishnurayan and his wife Anagha.
In the intervening years, it was Naganandini who would not allow Bhupathi to harm the princess. It looked like his sister had a soft spot for her stepdaughter, ignoring the fact that the child would grow up to take over as the queen of Kongunadu when she turned seventeen. Chamundeswari’s birthday was approaching fast. She would turn seventeen in Panguni which was barely three months away.
Raja Someshwara Thevar had created a will before he tied the knot with his second wife Naganandini, making his baby daughter born from Queen Srivalli his heir. In it, he had declared that Chamundeswari was to become the queen when she reached her seventeenth birthday in case he died before the event.
Bhupathi cracked his knuckles in frustration. In the thirteen years since the death of Someshwara Thevar and his queen Srivalli, he and Naganandini had had the rule of the kingdom and had led the most luxurious possible lives. They had also accumulated a lot of wealth, as the chief minister levied more and more taxes from the citizens. The people had turned poorer while the brother and sister along with Bhupathi’s family members dined from golden plates.
The palaces they lived in were the most opulent, only second to the Chozha emperor’s abode. Well, that information was purely hearsay as no one from Kongunadu had ever visited the Chozha palace in Gangaikonda Chozhapuram—the seat of Maharaja Rajendra Chozan—personally.
As for the burned down palace of Queen Srivalli—Chamundeswari’s mother—it lay in ruins with the area completely walled out. The present Queen Naganandini claimed that it was a monument to her husband and his first wife and should never be disturbed. Not that anybody had the audacity to question either the queen or her brother, the chief minister.
With both the murder attempts failing, it was up to Bhupathi to come up with a different plan. It was too risky to kill the princess now. Naganandini and Bhupathi simply could not afford to become any more unpopular with the public than they already were.
As he took a turn around the garden, Bhupathi saw the commander-in-chief Pandiyan step inside the gates. He paused in his stride, waiting for the other man to come up to him.
“Wish you a very good morning, My Lord!” greeted Pandiyan, bowing his head before the chief minister.
“And what is so good about it?” asked Bhupathi bitterly, glaring at the Senapati as if it was all his fault. “Did you get the news about your men?”
“Yes, My Lord!” responded Pandiyan with a sly smile on his face. There was a kind of excitement about him that morning which in itself was strange. Pandiyan usually went about life with a morose expression on his face. Older than Bhupathi by at least a dozen years, he had a few decades of experience in royal strategies and could be called a Rajathanthiri. It was lucky indeed on the day the two men had realised that they had the same aim—to kill Raja Someshwara Thevar and takeover his kingdom. Instead of fighting about it, they had decided to gather their forces together and work as one towards the common goal.
“And what is there to smile about it?” asked Bhupathi angrily, glaring at the commander-in-chief.
“Er… My Lord! I have another piece of information to share with you. And I also have come up with a new plan. I am sure both of them will cheer you up.”
“This had better be good, Pandiya. Or you will earn my wrath for sure,” threatened Bhupathi, not at all convinced that anyone could come up with an idea that could be better than his own.
“Shall we go inside, My Lord?” requested Pandiyan, showing his hand in the direction of the doorway.
With a heavy frown on his forehead, Bhupathi walked towards his palace, Pandiyan closely following him on his heels. They crossed the hallway to turn left before entering a room which was used for state meetings, suitably furnished with a long table and twenty velvet-cushioned chairs. A manservant rushed over to serve them wine in golden goblets before leaving them alone.
“Tell me,” commanded Bhupathi, sitting back to listen. While he gave the impression of being composed, he was feeling anything but calm from within as he gulped down the wine before pouring some more from the golden jug the servant had left behind on an intricately carved tray of gold. He felt as if time was moving too fast while it was also working against him.
Pandiyan cleared his throat before saying, “My son Paranthaman is back home from his travels.”
Bhupathi waited for Pandiyan to continue before realising that the commander-in-chief was finished. With a fierce frown on his face, he barked, “So? What does that have to do with the princess?”
Pandiyan smiled, unaware that the happy expression did not sit well on his harsh face that had a deep scar on the left side all the way from his temple to his chin, making him appear grotesque. “What if we get Paranthaman married to Chamundeswari? I know the regret you feel about having only daughters. And I had not mentioned anything before now as my son had left home when he was barely fifteen. I have not seen him in fourteen years. Now he has returned and I know I am prejudiced as his father, but I must say that he is really handsome. He…”
“Must have taken after his mother,” said Bhupathi, highly sarcastic.
Pandiyan laughed uproariously as if Bhupathi had cracked a really amusing joke. “You are right, My Lord. It is truly lucky that Paranthaman has taken after his mother and not me. He is unmarried and will be easily able to win the princess’s heart. This way, we will have everything in our control.” The commander-in-chief rubbed his hands in glee, confident that his plan was the best they could come up with at this last moment. Imagine being the father-in-law to Princess Chamundeswari! It would not be long before he and his son would be able to drive Naganandini and Marthanda Bhupathi out of Kongunadu.
Bhupathi’s mind ran along the same lines. After all, were not both of them power hungry? In Pandiyan’s place, he would have come up with the same plan. He rubbed his jaw some more, wondering how to turn the situation to his own advantage. He needed to have some kind of power over Pandiyan, or the commander-in-chief would usurp the kingdom and have the brother and sister thrown out as soon as possible.
He got up to stroll up and down the length of the room, thinking deeply. Just then, an idea sparked into his mind, making him smile. While Bhupathi’s features were handsome, he had such an evil mind that the smile he sported made him look like a demon in the guise of a man.
“I have an idea, Pandiyan. Has your son met anybody important in our kingdom?”
Pandiyan shook his head slowly from side to side. “Nooo…” he drawled, speculating on what the chief minister was up to. “He came home in the middle of the night. I do not think he had a chance to meet anyone at all, let alone someone important.”
“Excellent! Listen…” He lowered his voice to explain his plan to the Senapati.
Pandiyan’s face turned brighter and brighter as the master kingmaker unrolled his devious scheme to him step by step.
“So! What do you think?” asked Marthanda Bhupathi, confident that his master plan had no loopholes in it.
Pandiyan nodded his head vigorously, pleased about the power that was going to be placed in Paranthaman’s hands. Whichever way it went, Pandiyan stood to gain, which was the whole point. “It is perfect, My Lord!”
Bhupathi threw back his head and laughed, clapping his hands to summon a servant. When the man arrived, he ordered, “Bring us something to eat.” To Pandiyan he said, “Let us celebrate the return of Princess Chamundeswari. And we will introduce her to the man she will marry—the one and only Prince Vijayendra Chozhan.”
Yes! Marthanda Bhupathi’s plan, which Pandiyan had just now heartily approved of, was to present the commander-in-chief’s son Paranthaman as the younger Chozha prince. After all, nobody in their kingdom, even themselves, had ever set eyes on the prince. Which would work perfectly to their advantage.
Neither of the fraudsters realised that the time for their comeuppance was approaching fast, in the guise of none other than the real Chozha prince himself. For they did not know that the prince had his own alias and was known as Adityan these days.
