Flames of anger consumed Bahram Chubin following a sharp exchange with Prince Parmoudeh of China. In a fit of pride, the Iranian commander struck the captive prince with a whip and ordered him bound in chains within a cramped tent. Seeing this rash act, Khorrad Barzin and the grand scribe warned Bahram that letting wrath master wisdom would bring dire ruin. Realizing his folly, Bahram repented, struck off the prince's fetters, and presented him with a golden-harnessed charger and an Indian blade in an effort to soothe his wounded pride. Yet Parmoudeh remained cold and distant, committing his grief to divine fate rather than accepting Bahram's overtures.
Thereafter, Bahram ordered his scribes and priests to inventory the vast ancient treasures housed within Parmoudeh's mountain citadel—riches accumulated since the eras of Arjasp and Afrasiab. Among the unimaginable hoard lay the legendary belt and matchless earrings of Prince Siyavash, along with jeweled footwear and precious Yemeni robes. Driven by arrogance and greed, Bahram secretly withheld Siyavash's earrings, the gemmed boots, and two Yemeni garments from the royal registry, keeping them for himself while sending Parmoudeh and the rest of the tribute under guard to King Hormozd.
King Hormozd received Prince Parmoudeh with grand solemnity, seating him at his royal table and forging solemn oaths of peace upon sacred fires and high heavens. However, the secret of Bahram's theft soon came to light through Ayin Goshasp and internal informants. Outraged by Bahram's insolence, greed, and mistreatment of the Chinese prince, Hormozd devised a devastating insult. He dispatched a messenger carrying a package of women's attire—a spindle box filled with cotton, a crimson veil, a lapis-blue tunic, and yellow trousers—accompanied by a scathing letter reviling Bahram as a disgraced demon.
Upon receiving the humiliating gift, Bahram swallowed his rage in bitter silence. He donned the women's garments, set the spindle box before him, and summoned his senior generals and chieftains. The veteran Iranian warriors were horrified and enraged to behold their champion thus disgraced. In a fierce uproar, the army renounced allegiance to King Hormozd, refusing to call him ruler any longer. Thus was sown the seed of open rebellion, shaking the foundations of the Sasanian realm.