Guru Hargobind is the 6th Sikh Guru. He obtained the position at a very young age after his father, Guru Arjun Dev was brutally tortured and murdered by the previous Mughal Emperor, Jahangir.
This has led to the start of militarisation of the Sikhs, aiming to overthrow the oppressive Mughal regime.
But, Jahangir has died, and the power has fell from the hands of Jahangir's wife Noor Jahan to her daughter, Mihr.
One of the royal concubines, Manpreet was sent personally to him to deliver the letter.
It said that the Empress wants to visit the Golden Temple and have a Langar. Moreover, she wants to personally apologize to him for the deeds of her predecessors.
This was, of course, too good to be true.
Guru Hargobind suspected that it might be a trap. If the Empress herself comes to the Golden Temple, and somehow fakes getting attacked, it will give her perfect excuse to hunt them down, who have supported the First Prince in his rebellion against Jahangir, and later, intended to support him in the war of succession.
Suspicious about her intentions, he, along with some of his loyal supporters, arrived in Agra at the Royal Palace.
It will be too dangerous to let her come to Golden Temple.
Along their journey, they have heard about various events that have happened since the new puppet emperor succeeded his father.
Rebuilding Ram Mandir of Ayodhya that was demolished by Mughal Empire's founder Babur, restoring ancient universities like Takshashila and Nalanda, and the most shocking news,
that the Mughal Royal Family is leaving islam, claiming that the Arabs have manipulated the teachings of Muhammad to be their tool of conquest.
Well... if that was all, it wouldn't be THAT much of a concern for the Sikhs. It would have been better instead, since they did believe that a book containing so many questionable things can't be the words of god, but only a human.
The concern was, that the human Mihr was now trying to become a prophet and form her own religion.
Sikhs didn't buy the news that she can hear the words of any goddess.
It was all just a political tool for Mihr to gain more power.
According to all the information Guru Hargobind has, Empress Mihr is a very intelligent and calculative person.
She has been hailed as a genius since birth, and given the fact that she invented the printing press which she uses to spread her words across the Empire, a mysterious weapon that easily killed both First and Second princes, has controlled the vast majority of the nobles using a product made from Opium, and even made herself popular throughout the Empire and beyond using Ramayan, it wouldn't be wise to openly conspire against her.
Her army has many Hindus and even Sikhs, and they all praise her. She doesn't discriminate others, and only differentiate between people based on their abilities and value.
In her regime, the Mughal Empire just might change for better.
But her power hungry behaviour has made everyone cautious. If the Sikhs have value as a common enemy for uniting the people of her Empire under her according to her thinking, they would have no choice but to resist.
They will have to tread carefully around her. One mistake, and many lives will be lost. The Sikh forces can't take on the Mughal Empire yet. And considering the fact that even many Sikhs are there in her army, and they are loyal to her, the chances of winning against her is almost zero.
Guru Hargobind suspects that her motive is to make her concubine, Manpreet Kaur, the next Sikh Guru.
He will have to be careful about poisons, especially that take much longer to show symptoms.
With proper caution, and determination to face against any challenge, Guru Hargobind entered the room where he was brought to, where Empress Mihr alone was waiting for him, sitting gracefully in strange clothing.
"Good morning, your Majesty. I congratulate you and the Emperor for succeeding the Empire on the behalf of the whole Sikh community."
"Thank you, Guruji. Please have a seat. We have some matters to discuss."
She gestured to her maids and guards, and they left the room.
Now, he and her were alone. Meaning that she had confidence that he can't harm her.
He analysed the room quickly, and there didn't seem to be any archers.
"Don't worry. No one can see or hear what is happening in this room. Afterall, I can't allow this to spread."
"What do you-"
Suddenly, the Empress went on her knees, and touched both his feet.
"I apologize for what my predecessor did."
"What are you doing!"
He anxiously lifted her from the position.
This caught him completely off-guard!
"You are the Empress! You shouldn't bow to anyone so easily!"
Even though he knew that it was a calculated move to win him over, the feeling of revenge inside him still subsided.
Even though it wasn't her or the current Emperor's fault, since he wasn't even born yet and she was at most 2-3 years old when the previous Guru was murdered, she, the most powerful Empress in the history of Mughals, was willing to bow and touch his feet.
"If you want me to get up, please give me your blessings."
He was left with no choice, but to give her his blessings.
She got up, and went to her sofa.
"Please don't tell anyone about this, atleast until I pass away from old age."
"I will keep this incident locked in my heart until I die, I promise you, Empress."
Guru Hargobind has atleast understood one thing from this exchange. Empress Mihr doesn't want any hostilities from the Sikhs, especially in the turbulent times when the Royal Family is giving up a religion from which conversion is punishable by death.
Perhaps, rebelling against the Mughal Empire can wait until Empress Mihr's reign lasts as she has portrayed it is going to be.
'Maybe she can change things?'
"Then Guruji. I want to discuss something with you. This meeting is not just for apology, but also building trust and strong relationship between the Empire and its citizens."
And what she told him that day, shocked him greatly. It seems like a very big change is about to come.