Free The Forbidden Kingdom by Jan Jacob Slauerhoff

should die, my possessions shall fall neither into your hands, nor into those of the greedy church. If I live, then you will find out who you are dealing with.”
    He left the senatorial cellar. Outside it was chilly and dark, and waves of thick fog poured through the streets;it was as if he could already feel the damp shroud on his face.
    The following day Velho made preparations to leave Macao. He had rented a large junk and had all his possessions loaded onto it, and made no secret that he was going to live in Canton, which no other foreigner was permitted to do. He would not be able to have his house within the city walls, but would live on one of the islands in the Pearl River.
    The inhabitants sent a petition to the Senate asking that Velho be persuaded to stay. They were afraid that trade would move away if other people followed Velho’s example. Many senators preferred to have Velho, though he was hated, in their midst rather than as a neighbour. If he survived he would certainly be of one accord with the Chinese. But a request to stay could not be issued by the Senate after that night.
    The senior citizens went themselves. Velho received them, offered them good wine, which he significantly tasted himself in advance, listened to them benevolently and said that he might come back and that it was not certain that he would stay in Canton, and might go further north. But he would probably die soon anyway!
    He was to leave next morning; a large junk was lying close to the quay. When it was light, the many people standing waiting on the Praia saw that during the nightthe junk had been painted black and strewn with white flowers. The author of this lugubrious joke remained a mystery.
    Velho arrived on the quay with his household, shrugged his shoulders. The flowers were swept into the water and the junk sailed away, black as it was.
    Later they heard that Velho, after just three days in Canton, had sailed further up the Pearl River in a narrow river boat. A week later the junk drifted past the quay, right across the tidal current, and disappeared out to sea. Velho’s absence and mysterious fate remained a threat to Macao. It was difficult too to decide from trading activity whether he was dead or whether his influence would start operating from further inland.

I
    I N THE EARLIEST PHASE of the discoveries the ships crept almost unnoticed down the Tagus. Most were manned by criminals, and it was hard to find a low-ranking priest to bless their hulls before they set sail. The kings generally pretended not to know anything about the voyages, though there was one monarch who sailed with them for some distance in disguise. That changed when the first fleets returned with gold and spices; on the quay long stands were erected for the courtiers and the women in their finery; it was like tournaments used to be. It was true that one now only saw the beginning of the contest but it was a much greater and more momentous one: not horses and knights fighting each other, but big brown ships pitted against the Unknown. There was more at stake too: the men were no longer fighting over some matter of honour. The winner could buy a castle or a whole region—that was better than a trophy, a blue flower or the golden grail. And the danger was so much greater; that was especially attractive. Only a few returned, in ships ready to sink, and did not troubletheir brides for long with the desires of their premature old age.
    But who thought of future wrecks when he saw the splendidly decked-out ships and nobles? The sails were no longer grubby and tattered like great rags, but spotlessly white, with a vermilion-red cross painted on them.
    Cardinals in purple robes blessed the ships. Chorales were sung by a thousand voices as they set sail, and continued for an hour after the ships had cast off and were far downstream. The crews of criminals had been replaced by noblemen eager to make their fortune. This did not improve navigation. Da Gama sailed on