Behind the curtain, on the top-secret balcony overlooking the court, Emperor Aditya and Empress Arohi witnessed this horrid spectacle with their own eyes, their hearts turning blue with agonizing grief. Tears streamed silently down Arohi's cheeks. As parents, they felt a crushing sense of profound humiliation, realizing that their own daughter had degenerated into such an arrogant, wicked, and foul-tempered creature.
Beyond the golden curtain, seated upon the Prime Minister's throne, Rupanjan could scarcely believe his own ears! Was this truly Snigdha's real face? Was this ill-mannered, ugly, and insolently prideful girl the very person he had once loved more than his own life? In his heart, Rupanjan felt deep condemnation for Snigdha's vile and petty mindset.
Surveying the royal court with haughty swagger, Snigdha raised her hand and shrieked, "Listen to me, everyone! I shall now announce my auspicious marriage proposal!"
The villagers and common subjects gathered in the court grew intensely outraged by Princess Snigdha's unbearable rudeness. Whispers and protests erupted from all directions—"Never have I seen such an ill-bred girl!", "Insulting our Emperor!", "What kind of princess is this?"
Hearing the subjects' loud outrage, Snigdha's temper flared even further. Lunging toward the villagers, she screeched, "Shut your mouths, you lowly villagers! If it burns your hides so much, then get out of here right now! Listen carefully to my words first, and only then will you listen to whatever your King has to say! My decision will be heard here first! All of you open your ears and listen!"
Growing grave, the Emperor raised his royal scepter and declared in a commanding tone, "Snigdha! You are crossing all boundaries! Why are you engaging in such utter disrespect? Stand back and remain quiet. Allow me to fulfill my royal duties first, and only then shall your matter be heard."
Turning toward the Emperor, Snigdha placed her hands on her hips with unbelievable cheekiness and snapped, "Emperor! Are you hard of hearing or what? Whatever I say, I get it done! I said I will announce my wedding first, and I definitely will! I don't give a damn about anything else!"
Hearing such disgusting, unrefined, and vile language spill from a princess's mouth in the middle of a royal court made the blood freeze in Prafulla's veins! Driven by overwhelming fury and shame, Prafulla lost his self-control and charged toward Snigdha. He raised his hand to deliver a stinging slap across her cheek, but right at that second, Jishnu stepped in between and tightly gripped Prafulla's wrist.
Jishnu boasted arrogance, saying, "Absolutely not! Don't push your limits, Prafulla-da! Snigdha is my bride-to-be! You have no right to lay a hand on my future wife!"
The moment the words 'bride-to-be' fell upon his ears, Prafulla recoiled his hand in shock. Stunned beyond belief, he stared at Snigdha and stammered, "Bride-to-be? What nonsense are you spouting, Snigdha? Why is this landlord's son calling you his bride-to-be?"
Fearing that the truth might leak out prematurely, Snigdha shrewdly tried to derail the topic. Glaring at Prafulla, she barked, "Shut up, Prafulla! And you, Jishnu, why are you calling him 'da'? Address him simply as Prafulla! Calling a wicked, worthless trash 'brother' makes no sense at all!"
Though Snigdha hurled insults at Prafulla publicly, she felt extremely annoyed at Jishnu inside her mind. She thought to herself, 'Ugh! What a foolish idiot this Jishnu is! He went ahead and called me his wife right before a court packed with people! Who knows what foolish things everyone is assuming now! I had planned to drama-announce my choice before the entire court first, but this fool almost ruined everything beforehand! Ugh, when will this Jishnu gain an ounce of sense?'
Amidst all this extreme chaos and commotion in the royal court, Prabhasa stood quietly, her mind swimming in an unknown ocean of emotions ever since she stepped into this grand palace of Rupnagar.
With deep longing in her heart, Prabhasa folded her hands in silent prayer, thinking, 'Lord, if only I could catch a glimpse of Rupanjan in this vast royal palace today! Unknowingly, I have come to love him so deeply in the hidden corners of my heart! Every day, every single moment, his innocent face floats before my eyes. I know Rupanjan is just an ordinary hardworking youth, but my soul has accepted him as my true husband! Dear God, this is my humble prayer to you... let me see my beloved Rupanjan just once in this palace! I know having him as mine forever might not be written in my fate, but please grant me just a single glimpse! Why do I feel so strongly that Rupanjan is somewhere very close to me? Very soon, I might see him... the moment I lay eyes on him, my restless soul will find supreme peace!'
Meanwhile, the Emperor could no longer contain his patience. Stepping down a few stairs from his throne, he advanced with a grave, thunderous tone, "Has your family drama concluded, Princess Snigdha? And where do you find the audacity to tell the very subjects—whom I personally invited as royal guests—to leave my palace? Nothing here shall run on your unjust whims! This is not your father's palace where your vulgarity will be tolerated; this is the royal court of Rupnagar! Everything here shall run strictly by my rules! Do not think for a second that because you were invited as a guest, you can act as you please and consider yourself above all—cast this arrogance out of your head forever!"
Crossing all human limits, Snigdha spat toxic venom directly at the Emperor's face and screeched!
"You old King! Just because I've been showing you respect all this time, do you think you can talk down to me? What are you babbling about? Talking back to me? Even my own parents never dared to speak over me! Where do you get the nerve, you wicked old King of Rupnagar? I feel like holding you by your legs and dangling you upside down!"
The very instant such filthy, unrefined, and horribly insulting words reached the ears of the audience against an Emperor before hundreds of court guests, Empress Arohi and King Aditya came charging out from the secret balcony like a tempest!
Empress Arohi was burning red with fury, humiliation, and deep shame. Saying absolutely nothing, she walked straight up to Snigdha, stood right in front of her, and with every ounce of her strength—CRACK!—delivered a violent, deafening slap right across Snigdha's face!
The sheer force of the slap sent a shockwave that instantly rendered the entire court dead silent!
Clutching her stinging cheek in excruciating pain, Snigdha stumbled two steps backward. She could not believe her own eyes that her own mother had publicly slapped her like this in front of hundreds of subjects and guests! Snigdha's eyes stretched wide in pure outrage and disbelief!