From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Just as the demonstrations near the Île de la Cité were in full swing, I was in a small cafe in the Saint-Antoine district on the right bank of the Seine.

This is really a rather ordinary street cafe, with a store area of ​​only 40 to 50 square meters, with a few small round tables and sofa chairs with damaged surfaces scattered here and there.

The interior decoration also exudes a cheap atmosphere. The figure paintings hanging on the walls seem to have been painted by art school graduates. Even the floor here makes an unpleasant squeaking sound when stepped on.

It can be said that there are at least two thousand such inconspicuous cafes in Paris. Even the working class can come to such places from time to time to drink a cup of slightly sour black coffee.

However, this morning, the number of customers patronizing this cafe, especially men, suddenly increased significantly.

Just because since early morning, a beautiful and charming woman has been sitting in the corner of the cafe, seeming to be waiting for someone.

From time to time, single men approached her and wanted to ask for her name and address, but before they could even say a word of greeting, they were chased away by the two maids who were waiting on the side.

Of course, if these gentlemen knew that the beautiful woman sitting in the corner was His Majesty the King's official mistress, the famous Countess Du Barry, I am afraid they would definitely regret their behavior of approaching her.

Madame Du Barry looked lightly dressed today. Not only did she not wear any makeup, she didn't even wear any of those expensive jewelry. She just wore a rather simple yellow dress and came out of the Tuileries Palace.

Even her two maids were dressed very simply, like two maids in the homes of middle-class citizens.

It was obvious that Madame du Barry did not want anyone to recognize her identity.

It was already close to noon. Madame Du Barry took out a delicate gold pocket watch and glanced at the time, then cursed in a low voice impatiently:

"Damn it, why haven't you come even after this point?"

A maid carefully looked at Madame Du Barry's face, and she didn't know what kind of person she was. Madame Du Barry had been waiting here all morning.

All she knew was that Madame Du Barry had received a secret letter last night.

After reading the letter, the lady decided to leave the Tuileries Palace in a hurry early the next morning and came to this cafe to wait quietly. Even His Majesty the King did not know her whereabouts.

Finally, just when Madame Du Barry was impatient with waiting and was about to leave, she saw a haggard-looking man pushing open the creaking shop door and walking straight towards Madame Du Barry.

Madame Du Barry, who had been waiting all morning, was not excited at all. She looked at the man coldly, and it was not until she saw his haggard face that she showed a trace of emotion, and greeted in a low voice:

"Jean Du Barry, you are finally here."

If you tell those gangsters that the haggard and haggard man in front of them is the legend in their hearts, Jean Du Barry, I am afraid no one will believe it.

And only Jean Du Barry himself knew what kind of inhuman torture he had suffered in these more than half a year.

First, he was kidnapped by Lawrence Bonaparte to No. 10 Champs Elysées, where he was tortured by Grosso. After Lawrence left Paris, he was transferred to Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe and placed under house arrest. Suffered all kinds of torture.

Madame Du Barry looked at the man sitting feebly in front of her, her eyes becoming complicated.

On the one hand, it was Jean Du Barry who gave her, a street prostitute, a forged aristocratic birth certificate and married her to Du Barry's count brother, thereby bringing her into the upper class.

This gave Madame Du Barry the opportunity to be appreciated by the Duke of Richelieu, and then introduced to Louis XV by the Duke of Richelieu, giving her all the status and wealth as the king's mistress.

But on the one hand, Jean Du Barry also took advantage of the leverage in his hands and repeatedly asked her to speak favorably for him in front of the king and the Duke of Richelieu.

Jean Du Barry was able to qualify as a lackey of the Duke of Richelieu and also had a good status in the upper class, thanks to the assistance and relationship of Madame Du Barry.

This also made Madame Du Barry feel like and hate this man, and even she herself couldn't tell which side she was leaning towards.

"Ahem. Sorry, ahem, something delayed me."

Jean Dubarry coughed loudly and punched his lungs hard at the same time. He looked weak. His body seemed to be infected with some serious lung disease:

"You received my letter, Jeanne, ahem, I'm so glad you could come."

The person who sent Madame Du Barry an invitation last night was naturally Jean Du Barry.

Madame Du Barry also determined from the letter's handwriting, wording, and some code words that were only known between the two people that it was an autographed letter from him.

Since Jean Du Barry had been missing for too long, and he still had many tricks of his own, Mrs. Du Barry chose to go to the appointment without hesitation.

However, in order to prevent outsiders, especially Louis XV, from doubting the relationship between the two, Madame Du Barry did not tell the king about this trip, and specially concealed her identity before coming to this ordinary cafe. Keep appointments.

Madame Du Barry frowned slightly, but asked the question she was most concerned about first:

"Let's put this aside, where have you been these past few months? I thought you were really kidnapped by Laurence Bonaparte."

In her eyes, Jean Du Barry was always controlled by Laurence Bonaparte, which was one of the reasons why Madame Du Barry hated Lawrence so much.

"I cough." Jean Du Barry smiled bitterly, lowered his head and sighed, seeming to recall the painful experience of being tortured:

"I was indeed kidnapped by that kid and trapped in a basement in the suburbs, but luckily I escaped. You know, I still have some loyal subordinates in the sewers, and they found out about me."

Everyone knew about Jean Du Barry's power in the underworld, and Madame Du Barry had no doubts about it.

She frowned and was about to say something to comfort her, but suddenly her eyes lit up, she patted her thigh excitedly and said:

"Wait, in this case, wouldn't you have evidence that Laurence Bonaparte kidnapped you?"

Jean Dubarry was stunned for a moment, rolled his eyes nervously, and said stumblingly:

"As for the evidence, I have some evidence. They were all stolen when I was running away from damn Lawrence."

"Great, finally!"

Before the other party finished speaking, Madame Du Barry burst into laughter with joy. Her silver bell-like laughter even attracted the attention of all the guests in the cafe. They didn't know what could possibly make this beautiful woman behave like this. excited.

"Laurence Bonaparte, you are finally in my hands."

Madame Du Barry couldn't help but clenched her fists, laughed wildly and said to herself, she really didn't expect that she would gain so much after leaving the Tuileries Palace this time, and she would actually catch the Corsican committing a real crime. prove.

Madame Du Barry couldn't help but laugh when she thought about how His Majesty the King would view his most trusted minister who was committing a crime of kidnapping and torture in his land.

It was not until another burst of laughter that Madame Du Barry realized that she had lost her composure and said repeatedly:

"I'm sorry I'm too excited, but don't worry, the day of revenge for you will come soon! Where are the evidences? Just bring them to me and I will present them to His Majesty the King tonight!"

Madame du Barry had not been so happy for several days since her last defeat in front of the king and Laurence.

However, Jean Du Barry looked very worried. He opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

Madame Du Barry thought that the pimp wanted to bargain for some benefits, so she said very generously:

"Leave it to me, Jean. I will put in a good word for you in front of the Dukes afterwards and let you do some errands with them."

Jean Dubarly lowered his head and hesitated, then turned to look out the window, and then said slowly:

"Well, come with me. My residence is nearby. The evidence is there. Your maids should stay here."

With that said, Jean Du Barry stood up with difficulty holding on to the coffee table, and motioned to Mrs. Du Barry to leave with him.

"Huh?" Madame Du Barry was suddenly startled and asked in confusion:

"Isn't your residence over there on the Place des Vosges?"

Jean Dubarry's movements were momentarily startled, but he immediately returned to normal and said with a wry smile:

"Ahem. How can I dare to show my face now, let alone return to the villa there? In order not to let that damn Bonaparte know my whereabouts, I rented an apartment nearby."

Only then did Madame Du Barry realize that she had not thought carefully, and said with great emotion:

"Don't worry, Jean, I'll soon make that Bonaparte go through all the suffering you've suffered."

Jean Du Barry, who was walking with difficulty, stopped, turned his head and glanced at Madame Du Barry, and suddenly said:

"Thank you, Jeanne."

After that, he continued to hold on to the back of the chair in the store and limped out step by step.

Madame Du Barry put on her thin-brimmed three-cornered hat with some confusion and followed the other man's footsteps. In her impression, this hard-hearted man had not yet said thank you.

The two left the cafe. Jean Du Barry walked very slowly, saying nothing along the way, but kept coughing loudly.

Soon, Jean Dubarry turned into a deep and winding alley.

Madame Du Barry stood at the end of the alley and glanced at the dim path with a frown. It didn't seem like there was any human habitation in it, let alone an apartment.

She didn't like this kind of damp, dark and smelly place, especially after becoming the king's mistress. She never wanted to step into such a muddy puddle again in her life that would dirty her boots.

But thinking of what Jean Du Barry said about the situation in which he did not dare to show his face, Mrs. Du Barry still understood a little bit and quickened her pace to keep up.

After walking through the muddy and snowy ground for a long time, Madame Du Barry finally became impatient and frowned and asked:

"Jean! Where is your residence and how long do we have to go?"

However, what responded to her this time was not Jean Dubarly's explanation, but a joking laughter coming from deep in the alley:

"Madam, you don't have to leave anymore. We will take you to where you should go."

Immediately afterwards, seven or eight strong men were seen walking out of the corner of the alley. The leader looked at Madame Du Barry with a contemptuous smile, as if he had been waiting here for a long time.

Madame Du Barry frowned slightly, thinking that she was just some lustful gangster, so she sneered, pointed at Jean Du Barry beside her and said:

"Idiots, if you know what's going on, get out of here. Do you know who he is?!"

For any gangster, the name of Jean Du Barry is enough to make them tremble with fear.

Madame Du Barry sneered, wanting to see these gangsters trembling and begging for mercy under the name of Jean Du Barry.

However, Jean Dubarly did not announce his name. He said nothing and remained silent with his head lowered.

He didn't even dare to raise his head and look into the eyes of the strong man at the head.

Madame du Barry was stunned.

She didn't understand why this man who was so famous in the underground world lowered his head in front of a few ruffians.

Madame Du Barry subconsciously wanted to reveal her true identity, but the next words of the strong man in the lead instantly made her feel like she was falling into an ice cave:

"Madam, of course I know him. In fact, we are old acquaintances, right, Monsieur Du Barry?"

With that said, Grosso took a step forward, chuckled and patted the silent Jean Du Barry, and even this slight move made Jean Du Barry shiver.

The two of them had spent several wonderful nights in Lawrence's basement. Of course, it might not have been so wonderful for Mr. Du Barry.

"Wait. You, I remember you, I have an impression."

Madame Du Barry's pupils dilated in an instant. She subconsciously took a step back, clutching her chest with her left hand, pointing at Grosso with her right hand, and said in silence:

"You are... someone close to Laurence Bonaparte! I remembered you at the banquet at the Palace of Versailles before Christmas!"

It was rare for a tall Italian with rude behavior to appear at a banquet in the Palace of Versailles. In addition, Grosso was someone close to Lawrence, and Madame Du Barry was deeply impressed by him.

Grosso smiled and scratched his head. Unexpectedly, his disguise was still recognized. Fortunately, there was no one else in the alley, so he just said indifferently:

"A lot of women remember me, ma'am, but only after they crawl out of my bed."

"You! You guys!"

Madame Du Barry covered her mouth in collapse. She looked at Jean Du Barry, who lowered his head and said nothing, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Jean Du Barry! What's going on?! Why are Laurence Bonaparte's people here?!"

Jean Du Barry slowly turned his head to look at Madame Du Barry. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, but it was half a smile, mixed with an indescribable feeling of guilt and relief.

"I" Jean Dubarly felt as if there was a big mouthful of phlegm in his throat, and he choked on his words for a long time before he said slowly:

"I'm sorry, Jeanne, I betrayed you."

These words were like a bullet that penetrated Madame Du Barry's heart. She sat down in the mud puddle absentmindedly, looking at Jean Du Barry in disbelief. Her beautiful light yellow dress was also stained with The sludge.

"Sorry. Jeanne."

Jean Du Barry closed his eyes, and his voice was trembling. It seemed like he was explaining to Madame Du Barry, and he was also talking to himself to excuse himself:

"I was forced to do nothing. You don't know what kind of life I have been living in the past year. All the instruments of torture that you have never heard of have been used on me, but this is not the most painful thing! In that dungeon, except for the torturer, I could not see another living person throughout the day, and I didn’t even know what time the sun rose or set. This kind of loneliness was even scarier than the most terrifying devil! You can’t even commit suicide!”

After a pale and feeble roar, Jean Dubarry also fell to the ground, crying with tears in his eyes:

"Laurence Bonaparte told me that only by cooperating with him can I be freed from this endless torture. I, I can only believe him! That letter was written to you by Bonaparte, including today's The same is true for the meeting. The purpose is to get you to leave the palace."

Grosso slapped Jean Dubarry on the back of the head angrily and cursed:

"Mr. Du Barry, if you say more, you will have to be relieved in advance."

The pale Madame Du Barry finally came to her senses. She looked at Grosso in horror and asked sharply:

"What do you want to do?! You know that I am the Countess du Barry, and you still dare to treat me like this?!"

"Stop talking nonsense, ma'am, I was worried it wasn't you who came."

Grosso winked at his companions behind him and ordered:

"Tie this woman up and take her away. Remember to seal her mouth and let her keep her saliva to argue in court. As for you, Mr. Du Barry, you should be able to leave on your own, right?"

Jean Du Barry stared blankly at the noble official mistress, the noble Countess Du Barry, being stuffed into a sack like a sow covered in mud, and then he realized Grosso's question. He asked blankly:

"where are we going?"

"Palais de Justice, Monsieur du Barry."

Grosso said quickly:

"Go there and complete your final mission, and then you can be truly free."