When As'ad had read the paper and knew its purport，he wrapped it up again in the ribbons and put it in his bosompocket： then （for he was wrath beyond all measure of wrath） he cursed false women and sprang up and drawing his sword，smote the old trot on the neck and cut off her pate. Thereupon he went in to his mother，Queen Hayat alNufus，whom he found lying on her bed in feeble case，for that which had betided her with Prince Amjad，and railed at her and cursed her；after which he left her and foregathered with his brother，to whom he related all that had befallen him with Queen Budur，adding，'By Allah，O my brother，but that I was ashamed before thee，I had gone in to her forthright and had smitten her head off her shoulders！'Replied Prince Amjad，'By Allah，O my brother，yesterday when I was sitting upon the seat of judgement，the like of what hath befallen thee this day befel me also with thy mother who sent me a letter of similar purport.'
And he told him all that had passed，adding，'By Allah，O my brother，naught but respect for thee withheld me from going in to her and dealing with her even as I dealt with the eunuch！'They passed the rest of the night conversing and cursing womankind，and agreed to keep the matter secret，lest their father should hear of it and kill the two women. Yet they ceased not to suffer trouble and foresee affliction. And when the morrow dawned，the King returned with his suite from hunting and sat awhile in his chair of estate；after which he sent the Emirs about their business and went up to his palace，where he found his two wives lying abed and both exceeding sick and weak. Now they had made a plot against their two sons and concerted to do away their lives，for that they had exposed themselves before them and feared to be at their mercy and dependent upon their forbearance. When Kamar alZaman saw them on this wise，he said to them，'What aileth you？'Whereupon they rose to him and kissing his hands answered，perverting the case and saying 'Know，O King，that thy two sons，who have been reared in thy bounty，have played thee false and have dishonoured thee in the persons of thy wives.'Now when he heard this，the light became darkness in his sight，and he raged with such wrath that his reason fled： then said he to them，'Explain me this matter.'Replied Queen Budur，'O King of the age，know that these many days past thy son As'ad hath been in the persistent habit of sending me letters and messages to solicit me to lewdness and *****ery while I still forbade him from this，but he would not be forbidden；and，when thou wentest forth to hunt，he rushed in on me，drunk and with a drawn sword in his hand，and smiting my eunuch，slew him. Then he mounted on my breast，still holding the sword，and I feared lest he should slay me，if I gainsaid him，even as he had slain my eunuch；so he took his wicked will of me by force. And now if thou do me not justice on him，O King，I will slay myself with my own hand，for I have no need of life in the world after this foul deed.'And Queen Hayat alNufus，choking with tears，told him respecting Prince Amjad a story like that of her sisterwife.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Twentieth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Queen Hayat alNufus told her husband，King Kamar alZaman，a story like that of her sister in wedlock，Budur，and，quoth she，'The same thing befel me with thy son Amjad；'after which she took to weeping and wailing and said，'Except thou do me justice on him I will tell my father，King Armanus.'Then both women wept with sore weeping before King Kamar alZaman who，when he saw their tears and heard their words，concluded that their story was true and，waxing wroth beyond measure of wrath，went forth thinking to fall upon his two sons and put them to death. On his way he met his father inlaw，King Armanus who，hearing of his return from the chase，had come to salute him at that very hour and，seeing him with naked brand in hand and blood dripping from his nostrils，for excess of rage，asked what ailed him. So Kamar alZaman told him all that his sons Amjad and As'ad had done and added，'And here I am now going in to them to slay them in the foulest way and make of them the most shameful of examples.'Quoth King Armanus （and indeed he too was wroth with them），'Thou dost well，O my son，and may Allah not bless them nor any sons that do such deed against their father's honour. But，O my son，the sayer of the old saw saith，'Whoso looketh not to the end hath not Fortune to friend.' In any case，they are thy sons，and it befitteth not that thou kill them with shine own hand，lest thou drink of their deathagony，[362] and anon repent of having slain them whenas repentance availeth thee naught. Rather do thou send them with one of thy Mamelukes into the desert and let him kill them there out of thy sight，for，as saith the adage，'Out of sight of my friend is better and pleasanter.'[363] And when Kamar alZaman heard his fatherinlaw's words，he knew them to be just；so he sheathed his sword and turning back，sat down upon the throne of his realm. There he summoned his treasurer，a very old man，versed in affairs and in fortune's vicissitudes，to whom he said，'Go in to my sons，Amjad and As'ad；bind their hands behind them with strong bonds，lay them in two chests and load them upon a mule. Then take horse thou and carry them into mid desert，where do thou kill them both and fill two vials with their blood and bring the same to me in haste.'Replied the treasurer，'I hear and I obey，'and he rose up hurriedly and went out forthright to seek the Princes；and，on his road，he met them coming out of the palacevestibule，for they had donned their best clothes and their richest；and they were on their way to salute their sire and give him joy of his safe return from his going forth to hunt.
