Adham Khan grins. “And if the Emperor starts believing her?”
“You tried to kill an innocent servant to hide your false accusation,” Akbar says, his voice low and dangerous. “You have shamed this court.”
Her companion and another maid, Hira, tries to calm her. “Begum, anger against Maham Anga will only bring you more trouble. She rules the harem like a queen mother.” jodha akbar episode 15
Jodha snatches the vial and smells it—bitter almonds. She has learned enough poisons from her Rajput upbringing. “This is no tonic. This is poison.”
Jodha looks at him—not with forgiveness yet, but with a grudging respect. “Words are easy, Jalal. It is deeds that make an emperor.” Adham Khan grins
“What evidence?” Jodha cuts him off. “A piece of cloth found near the treasury? Any servant could have planted it. Moti has served me with her life. She would never steal.”
She has the guard arrested by her own Rajput soldiers stationed at the fort’s outer perimeter. By dawn, the news reaches Akbar. Akbar summons Maham Anga, Jodha, and the captured guard. Maham Anga remains composed, denying all knowledge. She claims the guard acted alone, perhaps to settle a personal grudge against Moti. “Begum, anger against Maham Anga will only bring
Akbar hesitates, then admits, “It is about Jodha. I married her to forge an alliance with the Rajputs, but she refuses to bow to the ways of the court. And now Maham Anga tells me that Jodha’s servants have been spreading dissent.”