From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Call the witnesses, enter Jean Du Barry!"

As Justice Mopu's voice came out, people watched in amazement as a lame and destitute man slowly walked onto the trial stand.

For ordinary people in the city, the name Jean Du Barry is too familiar to them.

A mafia leader with powerful hands and eyes, a wealthy industrial owner, a shrewd and ruthless pimp, and a legend in Paris. These labels have been attached to Jean Du Barry for many years.

However, none of these labels seemed to be able to connect with the haggard man in front of him. He looked more like a beggar on the street than a legend in the underground world.

The gray rats under the King of Beggars looked at Jean Du Barry with wide eyes. It was hard to imagine that the godfather in their minds was in such a miserable state.

Of course, after accepting that the cripple in front of him was the legendary Jean Du Barry, the citizens still burst into cheers.

Most people are happy to see this evil and ruthless gang leader put on trial. After all, there are many bloody stories about Jean Du Barry.

Madame Du Barry stood there blankly, watching Jean Du Barry walk onto the trial stand, a bad premonition rising in her heart.

Ignoring the gazes of Madame Du Barry and the citizens, Jean Du Barry walked onto the trial stand with difficulty, one step at a time.

He took a deep breath, coughed violently a few times, and then said humbly:

"My lord, here comes the criminal Jean Du Barry."

Justice Maupp nodded slightly, looked at Madame Du Barry aside, and asked loudly:

"Jeanne Bequ, the subject on trial, let us now turn to your second count. This court has received an interesting allegation, which suggests that you are suspected of impersonating your identity."

"What did you say...?"

Madame Du Barry's pupils expanded rapidly, and she almost fell off the trial stand due to her unsteady figure. Until she clenched the armrests to support her body, she still didn't seem to have recovered from the problem and was still sluggish. Looking ahead.

A rare trace of pride flashed in the corner of Justice Maupe's eyes. When he got this top-secret information from Monsignor Bonaparte, he was no less shocked than Madame Du Barry at this time.

But on the surface, Justice Mopu still turned the page of the file unhurriedly and asked again and again majestically:

"You have been charged with impersonation, Jeanne Bequ."

Madame Du Barry paused and turned to look at Jean Du Barry beside her, like a toy doll that had broken its wind-up.

Now, she also understands why Jean Du Barry is standing on this judgment stand.

There was just one thing that Madame Du Barry couldn't figure out:

How could Justice Mopu think of targeting him based on his identity?

Although Jean Du Barry has been tortured and interrogated, he will never take the initiative to reveal this secret. In the face of this secret, Jean Du Barry's actions of murder, arson, and keeping female slaves in captivity are simply not worth it. carry.

And as long as Jean Du Barry kept quiet, no interrogator would be able to guess that he was hiding such an incredible secret. Justice Maupe should not know about it at all.

"Laurence Bonaparte. Is it him? He is the one who took the initiative to kidnap Jean Du Barry, but it is even more impossible for him, a Corsican, to know about this!"

Countless names flashed through Madame Du Barry's mind, but in the end only the name Laurence Bonaparte stayed in her mind and became a lingering haze.

Justice Maupe looked at Madame Du Barry's absent-minded and silent look, banged the judge's gavel and shouted:

"Jeanne Bequ, the person on trial! This court demands your answer."

"I"

Madame Du Barry, who was awakened by the sound of the hammer, couldn't help but shudder. She forced a sneer, although the sneer looked more like a funny grimace at the moment:

"What are you talking about? Can such ridiculous accusations be discussed in court? Pretending to be someone else, I am Jeanne Bequ, the daughter of the Lange family, the noble Countess Du Barry, whose name am I pretending to be? Whose identity is worthy of me pretending to be?”

The people below also looked at Justice Maupp with some confusion. The only crime they knew about Madame Du Barry was the misappropriation of subsidy funds.

And although they hated this woman extremely, the citizens also somewhat approved of Madame Du Barry's defense. Logically speaking, a woman with a transcendent status like her should not be able to commit the crime of impersonating her identity.

"Jeanne Bequ, daughter of the Lange family, Countess du Barry, hum."

Justice Mopp naturally sneered at this argument, and also sneered and asked:

"This court only recognizes you as Jeanne Bequ. As for the so-called daughter of the Lange family, I'm afraid your brothers-in-law will not recognize this identity. Witness Jean Du Barry! Do you have anything to explain? ?”

Thousands of pairs of eyes focused on Jean Du Barry. As Madame Du Barry's brother-in-law, this man could be said to be the most qualified person present to judge Madame Du Barry's background.

Jean Dubarry still lowered his head, not daring to meet any of the eyes. His throat rumbled for a while, and then a thunderous word came out of it:

"The Lange family is a fake aristocratic family."

People were instantly shocked.

In the most widely spread and officially credible story about Madame Du Barry, she was born into the down-and-out Lange family, and then married Jean Du Barry's brother, Count Du Barry, and then became a count. The title of lady was mixed with high society, and she eventually became the mistress of the king.

But at this moment, Jean Du Barry actually said with his own words that the so-called Lange family from which Madame Du Barry was born is a fake aristocratic family?

Many people covered their mouths in surprise and felt that their brains were a little down. They were already afraid to continue speculating.

Jean Dubarly ignored the shock of the audience, cleared his throat and continued:

"Madame Jeanne Du Barry is not from a noble family. I asked someone to forge her birth certificate."

Justice Mopu's eyes narrowed and he asked in a deep voice:

"Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes, my lord."

Jean Du Barry nodded, took out an inconspicuous black package from his arms, handed it to the assistant judge beside him, and said slowly:

"This is the evidence and correspondence that I bribed some bureaucrats at that time. In addition, if your lord in court carefully examines the records about the Lange family in the Bureau of Quanxu and the Court of Heralds, many of them cannot withstand scrutiny. Sinner I am also willing to help the adults in court point out those loopholes.”

Madame Du Barry stared at the black package, and there were even a few obvious blood streaks oozing out of the corners of her eyes.

It was these evidences and handles that hung around Madame Du Barry's neck like a shackle, forcing her to become Jean Du Barry's patron in the court.

Madame Du Barry dreamed of getting rid of these evidences, but she never got even a chance. Jean Du Barry valued these clues even more than his entire net worth.

But at this moment, the thing she dreamed of was right in front of her, but Madame Du Barry could only watch helplessly, watching Jean Du Barry hand it to the assistant judge, and then pass it to the damn superior Justice Maupe.

Justice Mopu opened the package, glanced at the yellowed letters inside, and then showed a satisfied smile:

"Very well, the voting judges will review the validity of these evidences in a moment, but before that, Jean Du Barry, this court needs you to truthfully tell the truth about the true origin of the person on trial, Jeanne Bequ."

"Yes, your lord."

Jean Dubarry obeyed and cooperated, and said loudly in front of thousands of people:

"As far as I know Jeanne, she is the illegitimate daughter of a seamstress."

His narration had just begun, and he was immediately drowned out by the disbelieving comments from the people:

"What?! Her mother is a tailor? Madame Du Barry is not an aristocratic lady at all!"

"Or an illegitimate daughter? Oh my god."

"In other words, she pretended to be a noble?!"

"I knew this bitch!"

"No wonder she has such a character, she is just a son of a bitch!"

Jean Dubarry still didn't dare to raise his head. He only dared to look at the floor under his feet silently, waiting for the people's comments to subside before continuing:

"She stayed in a convent in her early years and came to Paris as an adult. She changed many jobs and did some small business of selling stalls. She also worked as a hairdresser's assistant and a female clerk in a flower shop. She also did some leather business on the street. ."

Everyone opened their mouths again, but this time they were too shocked to say anything.

His Majesty the King's favorite mistress, the most powerful woman in France, turned out to be a street prostitute? !

When they thought that a prostitute who was ridden by thousands of people had received countless favors from His Majesty the King, many citizens subconsciously stayed where they were, unable to accept this absurd and bizarre reality.

Even the most explosive royal tidbits have been overshadowed by this news. This is definitely the biggest scandal of the Bourbon royal family in decades.

Madame du Barry listened with a pale face, as if she herself had returned to the unbearable past.

Having said this, Jean Du Barry turned his head slightly and glanced at Madame Du Barry and said:

"Later, in 1763, she came to work in one of my casinos. At that time, I noticed her beauty and took her as my mistress. Later, in order to make her beauty more useful, I He forged her aristocratic background, arranged a fake marriage between her and my brother, and introduced her to the upper class as a mistress for men. "

Having said this, everyone present also understood.

This is just a pretty prostitute who happened to be spotted by an ambitious pimp.

But Jean Du Barry probably didn't expect that Madame Du Barry's beauty could attract the attention of His Majesty the King.

On both sides of the trial platform, after listening to Jean Du Barry's story, the fifty-two voting judges looked at Madame Du Barry with hostility and indifference in their eyes.

Although these robe nobles are not blood nobles in the traditional sense, they also belong to the noble second class.

For someone like Madame Du Barry who dares to transcend class and pretend to be a nobleman as a commoner, any true nobleman will be furious in his heart - they will never accept that these lowly commoners can also enjoy themselves That inherent nobility.

Justice Mopu's expression became much more serious, and he said in a low voice:

"Jeanne Bequ, the person on trial, do you have anything else to defend?"

Madame Du Barry's breathing became rapid and irregular, panting like a stimulated beast, and beads of sweat dripped from her forehead, soaking her muddy hairline:

"No, I have nothing more to say."

She knew that everything was over, and any words and sophistry were meaningless at this moment.

The only person who can save him now is His Majesty the King who is far away in the palace - if he can meet His Majesty the King in person, maybe His Majesty the King will remember his past relationship and forgive him.

But Madame Du Barry also knew that this was a fantasy. The people in the Palace of Justice and the High Court would never let her meet Louis XV again.

Justice Mopu made the last note on the file without changing his expression, then inserted the quill back into the ink bottle, stood up and announced loudly:

"This is the end of the debate in court. The court adjourned for half an hour. The voting judges began to review the evidence and analyze the testimony. After half an hour, the final verdict vote was taken. Now, the subject Jeanne Bequ will be escorted back to the Palace of Justice for detention. Waiting for the final verdict! ”

After saying that, Justice Mopu returned to the main hall of the Judicial Palace with fifty-two voting judges.

Several guards quickly rushed to the trial stand and once again lifted up the weak Madame Du Barry. After struggling through the crowd, they took her back to the main hall of the Palace of Justice and temporarily detained her in a study. .

"It's over. It's all over."

Madame Du Barry stared blankly at the Seine outside the window, looking at the cruise ships passing calmly on the river.

Tears flowed down her pale cheeks, turning into cold rivers. Her eyes revealed deep despair and helplessness, and she had lost all hope.

At this moment, Madame Du Barry had almost given up thinking. She no longer knew what her fate would be.

She just stared blankly at the Seine outside the window, her mind went blank, quietly waiting for the end of this hypocritical trial.

At this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open gently.

Someone tiptoed behind Madame Du Barry and called in a low voice:

"lady.?"

Madame Du Barry was stunned for a moment, and a sad smile appeared on her lips before she turned around. Who would call herself madam at this time?

She looked back and saw a cautious, thin man in front of her, wearing a light-colored cloak. He looked no different from the thousands of protesters outside.

Madame Du Barry was not impressed by his appearance and asked subconsciously:

"Who are you.?"

The man closed the door carefully, locked the door, and said in a low voice:

"Madam, I am from the Royal Guard. I happened to be nearby when they were trying you, Madam, so I rushed over immediately."

Upon hearing these words, Madame Du Barry jumped up from the ground, her voice trembling with excitement:

"Royal Guard. In other words, you are here!"

The man calmly glanced at the window of the room, nodded, and said quickly:

"I'm here to rescue you. Please come with me. I've prepared a small boat by the Ile de la Cité. I'll escort you back to the palace."

As he spoke, the man took off his cloak and handed it to Madame Du Barry, gesturing for her to put it on to cover her face.

Then, the man stepped forward to check the window of the room. After finding that the window was firmly locked, he took out the dagger from his waist without hesitation. Before Madame Du Barry could react, he used the handle of the knife to stab her hard. The window glass was smashed.

Following a harsh and loud sound of glass breaking, the dense footsteps of guards could be heard in the corridor outside the door.

"Madam! Come with me!"

The man climbed over the window with agility and shouted anxiously to Madame du Barry.

Listening to the increasingly dense footsteps in her ears, Madame Du Barry did not dare to hesitate for a moment.

She tiptoed through the window, not caring that the expensive skirt she was wearing was torn into pieces by broken glass.

Soon, Madame Du Barry used the cover of her cloak to blend into the crowd in the courtyard of the Palace of Justice with the man. The two of them moved inconspicuously among the crowd and walked quickly towards the edge of the island.