The Dreaded Conspiracy - 20

After much thinking, Raghunathan did get some clue as to why Biksham could have done all this! 

However, he still found it hard to believe that Biksham, whom he had considered is very own, could do such a terrible thing of trying to kill his son!  He wanted to tell the Queen about all this but she was away in her parents place to attend a function. 

The King met Sukhram who was alarmed to see the King in an infuriated state of mind.  “W…What’s the matter, Maharaj? Why are you looking so disturbed?”  Sukhram asked the King. 

“I should not have let you go without punishment, Sukhram!”  Raghunathan spoke gruffly.  “Just some time back, through some ruse, I caught the real culprit which is Biksham!  During interrogation, Biksham confessed that you worked for him and not Vikrant! 

It was Biksham who conceived the conspiracy made to kill my son.”  He paused and griped, “Oh Sukhram!  Do you know what you have done?  You are largely responsible for Vikrant, who is languishing in jail for no mistake of his!  If only I could bring Biksham along with me so that he could tell the truth in front of you!

  But after confessing to these facts, Biksham committed suicide!” 

Sukhram was aghast to hear this!  “Sukhram, if you still do not agree to facts, then I will not only punish you but also leave your family to it’s fate!  Beware!”  the King threatened.

Instantly, Sukhram fell at the King’s feet.  Since his master was no more, he felt that he could now tell the truth to the King. 

“I only did as my master Biksham told me, Maharaj!  I have nothing personal against Vikrant!  If I did not listen to my master, he would have killed me!  He had assured me that even if I die in this dreaded task, he would take care of my family, which appeased me! 

Oh Maharaj!  From what I confessed earlier, just replace Vikrant with Biksham and all the rest which I told you are pure facts! Also, another fact is that I did not run away from home on learning that Vijaya was found alive in the Tataka jungle but stayed back to face any eventuality that may befall me.” 

The King tightly closed his eyes in anguish.  Biksham was indeed the culprit!  He, then, looked at Sukhram and inferred, “My hunch has turned out to be true!”  He gave a pause and then revealed, “Biksham is not dead, Sukhram!  He is very much alive and is now teaching my son!  I formed this plan just to make you speak the truth!

You felt that it would have been only Biksham who could have told me that you worked for him!  I fabricated about your master committing suicide so that you do not feel anything fishy about his absence from here at this moment.”  Raghunathan cautioned him of keeping this visit a closely guarded secret and then took his leave.   He did not want to accord any punishment to Sukhram for avoiding any suspicions.

Back in the palace, the King spent some silent moments in sorrow.  How could Biksham do this to him, he wondered!  He was sure that even the first conspiracy where Chandrika was made to take that green paste was the handiwork of Biksham. 

The thought that his son was taking education under the very man who had tried to kill him filled the King’s mind with consternation.  Then, some thoughts began to strike his mind, which helped him to come to a decision. 

One aspect was certain which was that Biksham never liked to fail in his duty so that he could earn accolades from the King and also get name and fame in the kingdom.  As educating his son was the most important assignment that Raghunathan had given Biksham, the King was sure that his minister would do full justice to it, irrespective of the fact whether he had any abhorrence towards him or his son.

 Otherwise, Biksham would be apprehensive of the fact that he would fall from grace in the eyes of his ruler, which he never wanted!  Besides, the fact remained that in the field of warfare there was none comparable to Biksham, atleast, in Raghunathan’s kingdom of Amrapalli.  Also, Biksham possessed excellent administrative skills that would come very handy for his son once he became the ruler of this kingdom. 

Another factor was that Biksham would also try to make Vijaya a conscientious and a noble person, which were essential if the minister had to succeed in his latest assignment given to him by the King.  Therefore, by getting education under Biksham, Vijaya would only gain!  The King, thus, decided that till the time Vijaya completed his education under Biksham, he would stem the anger and grief against the minister in his heart and keep his findings a secret. 

Raghunathan also decided to not inform the Queen about all these recent developments for she would, then, not allow Biksham to be the guru of Vijaya, which he did not want to happen.  The King then thought about Vikrant.  He did not want to make the innocence of Vikrant public for the next twelve years.  At the same time, he also wanted to release Vikrant from the dungeon.  He thought of a plan and even contacted his friend, King Siddharth, for help. 

Raghunathan met Vikrant and apologised for his error of judgement.  He decided to make a small secret passage from Vikrant’s cell that would lead to a remote area just a few feet away from the palace and from there the minister would be escorted to the kingdom of his friend, King Siddharth, in a chariot.

 Vikrant would be given succor in the kingdom of Siddharth till the time Vijaya completed his education. 

Raghunathan employed some skilled workers, who completed building this small tunnel in Vikrant’s cell in only five days.  Thereby, Raghunathan waited for an opportunity where he could make everyone believe that Vikrant had escaped from jail.  

                                          (To Continue)