"King João, I hid the natives' book in the hidden compartnt of my captain's chest... Please, let go to the ship to retrieve it..."
"No need. The things from the ship are now in the Royal Palace... Hmm, consider it collateral for crashing into the pier... Guards! Bring Captain Columbus's chest here!"
"Yes!"
Soon, two guards carried in a pried-open wooden chest, entering the grand hall of the court. Seeing the open chest, Columbus shuddered and quickly dove forward to check. Sure enough, the bag of sand gold he had painstakingly slaughtered, robbed, and deceived from the natives was gone.
"Holy Mother! My gold! My gold! My money!!..."
Columbus let out a wail, more heart-wrenching than before when he was being searched outside the court. King João II raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the two guards holding the items. The two imdiately stood at attention, explaining softly.
"Your Majesty, the chest was already open when it was brought from the port... the kingdom's navy... the soldiers who boarded to arrest... and the sheriff at the port..."
"Hmm..."
King João II nodded, without saying anything. Whether it was the boarding navy, the port's sheriff, or the palace guard, these things were unavoidable. As a ruler of minds, he had to learn to turn a blind eye; so things couldn't be too clear... Thus, he patiently waited until Columbus cald down slightly before speaking calmly.
"Columbus, where is your evidence of the East? ... Could it have also been lost?..."
"Ah! My evidence! That book from the East!..."
Columbus, in a fluster, hurriedly rummaged through the chest, finding a small crack at the edge of the bottom layer. Sohow, he managed to pull out a book, a yellowing paper book. The cover prominently displayed three square characters unrecognized by anyone, "Book of Ama Colley"!
"The book is still here! This is the one!"
"Bring it up!"
Seeing the book's cover, King João II's expression changed, his voice carrying urgency. Columbus still wanted to negotiate, but two guards quickly rushed over, grabbing his wrist firmly and directly snatching the book away. As King João II took the book, he rely flipped through it, and rows of orderly square characters imdiately ca into view. His calm breathing suddenly beca heavy, his pupils shrinking instantly, clearly shocked to the extre!
"Almighty Lord! It truly is... truly square Eastern characters!... How is this possible?!... Could the great island Columbus reached in the ocean truly be the East, truly be Japan in Cipangu?!... But the distance, the latitude and position... how could it possibly be?!!"
King João II trembled slightly, his face exceptionally grave. He looked through it once more, finally taking a deep breath, and solemnly and lowly instructed his trusted aide Nuno beside him.
"Nuno, go... bring the letter from little Pero and the roll of 'One Thousand Characters' from the Seris...'
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
Nuno bowed his head, quietly gripping his right hand, suppressing the palpitation and disbelief within him. He rushed out of the hall, returning hastily monts later. Then, he took out the yellowed 'Thousand Character Scroll', carefully handing it to the king.
"Your Majesty, the scroll from the Seris... whether the characters match, we can know by comparison!"
"Hmm..."
King João II humd and imdiately placed the "natives' book" and the "Seris scroll" side by side, starting to compare them. Monts later, he discovered the first similar "character," followed by a second, a third... a tenth... a thirtieth!
"Almighty Lord! The characters of these two books... most of them... are almost identical or similar!... This... this book of the natives, it truly is in the script of the Seris!!... Could it be that Columbus really reached the East, really reached Cipangu Japan?!... Did he really, after rely two months westward, discover a new route to the East deep in the Atlantic Ocean?!!..."
King João II clenched the scroll tightly, striving to suppress the tumultuous waves in his heart, the overwhelming shock, almost letting out a groan!
He struggled to put down the book, handing the Seris scroll brought back by little Pero to his trusted confidant Nuno, watching as he carefully stored it away. Then, he handed the book of the natives to the court scholars on the other side, rely gesturing for a look, unable to utter a word.
"Almighty Lord! How is it possible, could it truly be the legendary, square characters of the East?!"
"Scholar Sebastian, you are a famous expert on the East... can you read these characters?..."
"I... how could I read them? Eastern characters have no school to learn, nor anyone to teach!... In the entire Catholic World, perhaps only the Holy See in Ro has any records of Eastern characters!"
"Ah! Since no one recognizes them... could this book have been forged by Columbus?"
"Forgery? Do you think he has the scholarly knowledge for such forgery, the ability for such fabrication?"
"Oh! This is a printed book, it even has printed ink illustrations! ... What are these depicting? A foreign deity being worshiped by many, holding a long spear, with waves on its head, surrounded by small birds and large wolves?..."
"The deity in the illustration? Could it really be a god worshipped by the Indians?"
"How could it be India?! Where Columbus arrived couldn't possibly be India!..."
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