[Count of Monte Cristo] Love and hatred

chapter143

As the prosecutor walked into the courtroom slowly, the master of ceremonies solemnly announced the opening of the courtroom with the tone of an opera singer, as if pulling the curtain of a big drama.

Villefort was seated in silence.Dr. Avrigni's medicine paralyzed his nerves, and the furnishings here were completely similar to those of the Paris court, so Villefort didn't notice the slightest difference.He announced with a solemn air, "Take the accused."

The door opened, and it was strange that no one cared about the person being brought into the courtroom, and the audience in the public gallery still kept their eyes on the prosecutor's position, as if he was the suspect.

This made Villefort a little uncomfortable.

He glanced at the defendant with a piercing gaze, who had a typical Corsican face.In Villefort's view, those Napoleon's fellow villagers all looked alike, so he did not recognize the person in the dock as Bertuccio, the steward of the Count of Monte Cristo.

But the lawyer next to the defendant, the blond man with a bushy mustache, gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.Villefort's feeling was right. In fact, the lawyer had appeared at his home once before, and he was Busoni in disguise.

Next, Villefort began to read the indictment which he had spent a long time putting together.He glanced in the direction of the defendant from time to time, and launched his usual psychological offensive against the prisoner, but the defendant always sat upright and looked at him with an unfathomable expression.

The indictment was finally finished, and Villefort began the routine interrogation, "Your name?"

"Giovanni Bodu Xiyue."

Villefort couldn't help frowning, as if the name touched a certain nerve in him, "Defendant, this is not the name in your pre-trial file."

"It's not true," Bertuccio raised his eyebrows, "but this is my real name."

The prosecutor paused, then continued to ask, "What is your age?"

"43."

"Where were you born?"

"A little village called Logriano in Corsica."

"Your Job?"

"I used to be a smuggler," Bertuccio replied calmly, "and then I killed and stole."

Villefort froze for a moment, the indictment did say that the defendant had stolen something, but this was the first time he had heard about the murder.

"Let's talk about your theft first." Villefort narrowed his eyes slightly. "A week ago, you stole a lady's purse in Saint-Germain."

"This is simply nonsense, Mr. Prosecutor," Bertuccio cleared his throat. "At that time, I was serving in the home of a respectable nobleman."

"And what about the theft and murder you just confessed to?" demanded Villefort.

"I did steal, but I stole a wooden box in the garden of a villa in Auteuil, not a purse in Saint-Germain. I remember that was more than ten years ago, I would have I thought there would be some kind of treasure in the box, but I didn't expect it to be a baby, an illegitimate child who was thought not to be born!"

Bertuccio pondered for a while, "And the person I wanted to assassinate at that time was you, prosecutor. Obviously, I didn't succeed at that time, because you are still sitting here right now!"

Villefort's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized that the person in front of him was not the prisoner he wanted to prosecute, but his enemy many years ago, the Corsican who wanted to avenge his brother who died tragically in Nîmes!

He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat, and then firmly grasped the back of the chair with both hands, so as not to reveal his inner tension.No, the more you can't panic at this time, he warned himself.

So he pretended to be calm and said, "This is nonsense. I don't know you at all, sir. The stories you make up can't clear you up. The court will only punish you severely!"

"I don't want to get rid of the crime, Mr. Prosecutor. On the contrary, one of the reasons why I came here is to confess the crimes I committed." Bertuccio paused, and continued, "The other reason is for that Child raised to adolescence by my sister-in-law Essutai. Yes, his father tried to strangle him and bury him alive, but he survived. Although later he became Viscount de Morcerf and lived the He should enjoy the noble life, but for more than ten years, he has not known who his real father is. Aren't you ashamed, Mr. Prosecutor? Albert is your real son!"

Villefort's face turned pale in an instant, and he didn't know the true identity of the illegitimate child until today.In fact, the child had always been with him, but for some reason he had become Count Morcerf's son.But now that I think about it, Albert is a beautiful boy, and there are indeed many things like him.

Villefort looked around and saw that the auditorium was still silent, and the lawyer next to the defendant was still buried in the documents, as if he didn't know what was going on around him.He couldn't help but be thankful that Bertuccio was standing in the dock at this moment, which meant that everything was still under his control.

"Defendant, your lie is not only a slander to Viscount Morcerf, but also a slander to this judge. Do you want to set a precedent for contempt of court? This will only add to your crime!" Villefort avoided Bell Tuqiao's murderous eyes tried not to let the tension seep into his voice, "I said, the evidence we have is enough to send you to jail, now, pass the witness!"

After the witness was brought into the courtroom, he seemed to be afraid of the majesty of the prosecutor, and he never dared to meet Villefort's eyes, and he was submissive when answering questions, which made Villefort very satisfied.

"You say you are the proprietor of an inn in Saint-Germain, so you must have witnessed this man stealing a purse near the inn?" asked Villefort.

"No, I didn't see that gentleman steal anything," the witness shook his head, "and I just returned to Paris recently, and it was a long time ago when I was a hotel owner in Saint-Germain."

"What do you mean, what is a long time ago?" Villefort narrowed his eyes slightly, "You know, you will be convicted of perjury in court!"

"I didn't..." The witness could barely utter a complete sentence.At this time, someone in the auditorium cleared his throat, and the witness turned his head to look at the corner. After a while, he seemed to have regained his courage, and met the prosecutor's eyes.

"I swear, everything I said is true. I did run a hotel in Saint-Germain, but because I and my servants witnessed a scandal, I was suppressed, and finally had to sell the hotel. forced to leave Paris."

Just as Villefort was about to say that his testimony had nothing to do with the case, the deputy judge asked first, "What scandal?"

It was only then that Villefort noticed that during the period of his leave due to successive unfortunate events at home, the court had put on many strange faces.

No, it should be said that no one he knew was in court.

A strong uneasiness took possession of his heart, because he had already recalled who the innkeeper was.Back then, he had a private meeting with his lover Ermini in the hotel owned by this boss, and was smashed by his ex-wife Renee, and this incident directly led to Renee's tragic death under the carriage.Later, in order to cover up the truth, he first put the perpetrator, Amilai, in prison, then managed to drive away several waiters on duty, and finally suppressed the business of the hotel secretly, so that the boss had to leave Paris.

He thought that this would be safe, but he didn't expect that this matter would be exposed by the hotel owner in court on the spot.

The witnesses became more and more confident as they spoke, while the prosecutor remained silent.

The Count of Monte Cristo hiding in the public gallery showed a stern smile. This key witness was found through Villefort's lost booklet.And some of the other lucky survivors in the pamphlet were invited to court by him today.

After listening to the testimony of the witness, Villefort couldn't bear it anymore. He realized that he had fallen into a trap set by an enemy, and he stood up furiously, "The misfortune outside the German Hotel was just an accident. What I want to know is, is it true? Who is framing me?"

At this time, the Count of Monte Cristo stood up from the audience, and he pushed a wheelchair and walked forward slowly. On the wheelchair was Noirtier, Villefort's father.

"Count of Monte Cristo?" asked Villefort in surprise. "What do you mean by bringing my father here?"

"Remember that autumn evening in [-], Monsieur de Villefort?" said the Count of Monte Cristo in a deep and powerful voice, "in order to prevent your father, General Noirtier, from anointing Napoleon's son, the King of Rome, as emperor, You put a poisonous potion in the wine he used to drink, which caused him to be paralyzed for life! You confessed this to him in his room a few days ago!"

Villefort opened his mouth subconsciously, but his father's eyes full of hatred made him unable to say anything.But why did the Count of Monte Cristo know about this?

"You not only kill innocent strangers, but you also kill those closest to you," the Count of Monte Cristo continued, "and it is such an executioner who stands on the prosecutor's seat every day and acts as a holy judge. , isn't this a great irony?"

"You have no evidence..." Villefort murmured in defense, "and you are disturbing the order of the court."

"I don't think we need any more evidence. You said that everything that happened in your home is your retribution!" The Count of Monte Cristo broke out like a lion, and the court was so quiet that a needle could be heard falling. the sound of.

Villefort could hardly breathe, for he had spoken the words of the Count of Monte Cristo to his father in the room.What a formidable opponent he faced!

Villefort subconsciously left the judge's seat and stepped back in panic.

At this point, the members of the jury all stood up and shouted, "He's guilty!"

Villefort turned his head and found that each of them was his former enemy. Some of these people were dignitaries and some were businessmen, but they were all trampled into the mud by him in the end, and could never turn over again.After that, he recorded their names in the booklet with a sense of pride.

But now... the judge's seat where he was sitting has become a trial seat, and those who were persecuted by him have become judges.Villefort knew he had lost, and lost completely.

He crossed the auditorium and fled towards the door. At this moment, he caught a glimpse of Beauchamp sitting on the seat reserved for reporters.

Villefort suddenly realized that if today's incident was reported, he would be ruined, even worse than Count Morcerf's fate.Because he murdered his three closest relatives, his father, his wife, and his son, anyone with a conscience would spurn him.

No, he can't let this happen!

Losing his mind, Villefort rushed towards the reporter, trying to strangle him, but unexpectedly knocked down a woman who was listening.I saw that "woman" fell to the ground and broke into countless pieces.

Villefort was terrified by this appalling sight.No, this is not the world at all, but hell.Today's trial is his trial before the end, and the Count of Monte Cristo is the avenging angel who has been ambushing in Paris!Now, he's spreading those ominous wings and pointing Purdue's bident at him, Lord of Hell!

Villefort no longer cared about the reporter, and fled to the door in a hurry, only feeling that the state of trance was indescribable.

Beauchamp stepped over the fragments of the wax figure knocked down by Villefort just now, and was about to chase out, but was stopped by the Count of Monte Cristo.

The count stared at Villefort's back with burning eyes, "Leave the rest to me!"

When he saw the sun again, Villefort realized that this was not a courthouse located in a prosperous part of Paris, but an uncompleted house in a gloomy woodland in the wilderness, which made him more determined that this place was not the world but Thoughts from hell.

He staggered in front of the carriage, told the driver to go home as quickly as possible, and then fell on the carriage seat.

The scene of the trial just now kept appearing in front of Villefort's eyes, and the voice of "he is guilty" kept ringing in his ears, and he felt his head was about to explode, so he completely ignored the fact that the coachman took him a long way again.When he arrived near the hotel in Saint-Germain, he suddenly saw a woman in white appearing in the middle of the road.

Villefort shouted to stop, but the coachman did not listen to him.He closed his eyes tightly, and the terrible scene of that year appeared in front of his eyes. "Nenee, no!" he yelled.

However, the carriage did not hit anyone, but drove past steadily.Villefort looked out of the car window, but the woman just now was also missing.

There was only one thought in his mind at the moment, and that was to get home as soon as possible, because today was the day when little Edward was out of school, and since his enemies could use his father against him, they could also use his son.

Valentine, however, returned home before Villefort.

At the sight of the girl who should have been lying in the tomb, most of the servants fled the house in terror.

Valentine ignored them, but went straight to her stepmother's room.At this time, Mrs. Villefort had persuaded little Edward, who had returned from school, to help her unlock the door, and then forcibly fed the child with a few drops of poisonous potion, and swallowed the rest herself.She had to do this because Villefort wanted her to die, and a good mother cannot be separated from her son.

Fortunately, those medicines were dropped by the earl's people.

Valentine quickly pulled the terrified little Edward to lock the door and fled the room.The people placed by the earl also took orders to leave after they were sure of their safety.

When the siblings walked to the garden, they happened to meet Villefort who had rushed back, but the shocking scene in front of the Saint-Germain Hotel still lingered in his mind, so he mistook Valentine for her mother, Lei. Ni.

He confessed to her the crime he had committed against Renee, begging her not to take his last child while repenting.

In fact, Valentine had already learned those things from Maisette, but it was another matter to hear Villefort say it himself.

Valentine's eyes were filled with tears, but she did not look back, she could not forgive Villefort for what she had done to her mother, nor did she want to hear those hypocritical and disgusting words.

Little Edward glanced behind him, but was immediately frightened by his father's distorted expression, and held his sister's hand tightly, urging her to leave quickly.

Villefort wanted to chase after him, but was stopped in time by the Count of Monte Cristo who arrived on horseback.

"Monte Cristo, I have never offended you, why did you do this to me?" Villefort asked, grabbing the collar of the Count of Monte Cristo.

"You're not quite right, Mr. Prosecutor, think about it again," the count said, shaking off his hand, "You first saw me in Marseille, your hometown, just over 20 years ago, when you and Lei On the day Miss Ni holds her wedding, think about it carefully."

"What did you say?"

"The Count of Monte Cristo is just a mask. I am the ghost of the poor man you buried in the darkest dungeon of the Château d'If, and now that ghost has finally crawled out of hell, and God has carved vicissitudes on his appearance, And gave him a treasure so that you have not recognized him to this day."

Villefort said incredulously, "You are..."

"Yes, I am the man you think of," said the earl, "a man who is destined to expose the crimes buried under your solemn judge's robes!"

Villefort finally broke down.He slumped on the ground, and the light in his eyes disappeared. It turned out that his retribution today was doomed more than 20 years ago.

"Are you here for revenge?"

The Count of Monte Cristo nodded.

"Yes, I once wanted to take revenge on you in the cruelest way, but a woman who was persecuted by you made me finally understand that I shouldn't take revenge as the whole meaning of life, it can't bring me real peace. Because of this, I promised your father that I don’t want your life, but a fair trial.” The earl’s blue eyes flickered, “But I will always keep an eye on you, those who were persecuted by you in court today People will also stare at you, if you dare to show up as a prosecutor, or come out to commit crimes, I will appear again and take away everything you have left!"

"Where's my child?"

"You took away his child from an old father more than 20 years ago, and let him die in the sea with hatred. As a punishment, you will never see your child again in this life!"

"No..." Villefort hugged his head and wept bitterly in despair. He knew that he had no power to resist in front of this mighty avenging angel.Just then, there was a loud knock on the door from the upstairs room.

"I also know that just this morning, you sentenced your wife to death, and she did drink the poisonous potion as you ordered. However, your blood debt is far greater than hers, and you have no qualifications at all." Judge her, so I secretly changed her medicine." The count pondered for a while, "Now, go find her."

The Count of Monte Cristo turned and left after speaking.

"He is right," murmured Villefort, "that woman is a criminal only because she is married to me! And I let her die! No! She can live, and we can escape, out of France. "

He struggled up the stairs and opened the room.However, his wife was completely insane, and she strangled him with her last strength, "Where is my child? Give me back my Edward!"

"Let me go!" Villefort pushed her violently while struggling, and Heloise fell to the ground after hitting the wall, and did not move anymore.

Villefort dared not check to see if his wife was still alive, he just wanted to escape from the cursed house.However, when he went downstairs, he unfortunately rolled down the stairs and passed out.

When he woke up again, there was only darkness in front of his eyes, not the darkness of night, but the darkness that sees no light.

He is blind.

At this moment Villefort heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

It was not until the other party spoke that he recognized that it was not the Count of Monte Cristo, but the son of Morcerf.No, it should be his son, Albert.

Obviously, Albert also learned the truth.

Now Renée is gone, Heloise is gone, Valentine is gone, little Edward is gone, and Villefort, as if grasping at the last straw, keeps kissing Albert's shoes, begging His illegitimate son's forgiveness, he would do anything as long as he was willing to forgive him.

A moment later, Albert finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"What if I want you to die?"

The author has something to say: Thank you for the fiber spray, Taylor Nice, and the nutrient solution without a name, okay~