Moreover，she had taken a sword and fixed the hilt in the ground and had set the point to the middle of her heart between her breasts；and she bent over the blade saying，'Needs must I slay myself and not survive my beloved.'When her father entered and saw her in this case，he cried out to her，saying，'O Princess of kings' daughters，hold thy hand and have ruth on thy sire and the folk of thy realm！'Then he came up to her and continued，'Let it not be that an ill thing befal thy father for thy sake！'And he told her the whole tale that her lover was the son of King Sulayman Shah and sought her to wife and he added，'The marriage waiteth only for thy consent.'Thereat she smiled and said，'Did I not tell thee that he was the son of a Sultan？By Allah，there is no help for it but that I let him crucify thee on a bit of wood worth two pieces of silver！'Replied the King，'O my daughter，have mercy on me，so Allah have mercy on thee！'
Rejoined she，'Up with you and make haste and go bring him to me without delay.'Quoth the King，'On my head and eyes be it！'；and he left her and，going in hastily to Taj alMuluk，repeated her words in his ear.[53] So he arose and accompanied the King to the Princess，and when she caught sight of her lover，she took hold of him and embraced him in her father's presence and hung upon him and kissed him，saying，'Thou hast desolated me by thine absence！'Then she turned to her father and said，'Sawest thou ever any that could do hurt to the like of this beautiful being，who is moreover a King，the son of a King and of the free born，[54] guarded against ignoble deeds？'There upon King Shahriman went out shutting the door on them with his own hand；and he returned to the Wazir and to the other envoys of Sulayman Shah and bade them inform their King that his son was in health and gladness and enjoying all delight of life with his beloved.
So they returned to King Sulayman and acquainted him with this；whereupon King Shahriman ordered largesse of money and vivers to the troops of King Sulayman Shah；and，when they had conveyed all he had commanded，he bade be brought out an hundred coursers and an hundred dromedaries and an hundred white slaves and an hundred concubines and an hundred black slaves and an hundred female slaves；all of which he forwarded to the King as a present.Then he took horse，with his Grandees and Chief Officers，and rode out of the city in the direction of the King's camp.As soon as Sultan Sulayman Shah knew of his approach，he rose and advanced many paces to meet him.Now the Wazir and Aziz had told him all the tidings，whereat he rejoiced and cried，'Praise be to Allah who hath granted the dearest wish of my son！'Then King Sulayman took King Shahriman in his arms and seated him beside himself on the royal couch，where they conversed awhile and had pleasure in each other's conversation.Presently food was set before them，and they ate till they were satisfied；and sweetmeats and dried fruits were brought，and they enjoyed their dessert.And after a while came to them Taj alMuluk，richly dressed and adorned，and when his father saw him，he stood up and embraced him and kissed him.Then all who were sitting rose to do him honour；and the two Kings seated him between them and they sat conversing a while，after which quoth King Sulayman Shah to King Shahriman，'I desire to have the marriage contract between my son and thy daughter drawn up in the presence of witnesses，that the wedding may be made public，even as is the custom of Kings.'I hear and I obey，'quoth King Shahriman and thereon summoned the Kazi and the witnesses，who came and wrote out the marriage contract between Taj alMuluk and the Lady Dunya.Then they gave bakhshish[55] of money and sweetmeats；and lavished incense and essences；and indeed it was a day of joy and gladness and all the grandees and soldiers rejoiced therein.Then King Shahriman proceeded to dower and equip his daughter；and Taj alMuluk said to his sire，'Of a truth，this young man Aziz is of the generous and hath done me a notable service，having borne weariness with me；and he hath travelled with me and hath brought me to my desire.He ceased never to show sufferance with me and exhort me to patience till I accomplished my intent；and now he hath abided with us two whole years，and he cut off from his native land.So now I purpose to equip him with merchandise，that he may depart hence with a light heart；for his country is nearhand.'Replied his father，'Right is thy rede；'so they made ready an hundred loads of the richest stuffs and the most costly，and Taj alMuluk presented them with great store of money to Aziz，and farewelled him，saying，'O my brother and my true friend！ take these loads and accept them from me by way of gift and token of affection，and go in peace to thine own country.'Aziz accepted the presents and kissing the ground between the hands of the Prince and his father bade them adieu.Moreover，Taj alMuluk mounted and accompanied him three miles on his homeward way as a proof of amity，after which Aziz conjured him to turn back，saying，'By Allah，O my master，were it not for my mother，I never would part from thee！ But，good my lord！ leave me not without news of thee.'Replied Taj alMuluk，'So be it！'Then the Prince returned to the city and Aziz journeyed on till he came to his native town；and he entered it and ceased not faring till he went in to his mother and found that she had built him a monument in the midst of the house and used to visit it continually.When he entered，he saw her with hair dishevelled and dispread over the tomb，weeping and repeating these lines，'Indeed I'm strong to bear whate'er befal；
But weak to bear such parting's dire mischance：
What heart estrangement of the friend can bear？
What strength withstand assault of severance？'
Then sobs burst from her breast，and she recited also these couplets，'What's this？I pass by tombs，and fondly greet
My friends' last homes，but send they no reply：
For saith each friend，'Reply how can I make
When pledged to clay and pawned to stones I lie？
