While the demonstrations near the Île de la Cité were in full swing, on the right bank of the Seine, in a small cafe in the Saint-Antoine district.
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 in the morning, there has been a beautiful and charming woman 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, glanced at the time, and cursed in a low voice impatiently:
"Damn it, why haven't you come even after reaching this point?"
A maid carefully looked at Madame Du Barry's face. She didn't know what kind of person she was and what kind of person she was. Madame Du Barry had been waiting here all morning.
She only knew that Madame Du Barry received a secret letter last night.
After reading the letter, Madam 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 only after seeing his haggard face clearly did she show 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 legendary figure 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, and her eyes couldn't help but become complicated.
On the one hand, it was Jean Du Barry who forged a noble birth certificate for her, a street prostitute, 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 Duke Richelieu, and then introduced to Louis XV by Duke Richelieu, giving her all the status and wealth as the king's mistress.
But on the one hand, Jean Dubarly also relied on 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 Madame Du Barry's assistance and connections.
This also made Madame Du Barry feel both fond and disgusted with this man, and even she herself could not tell which side she was leaning towards.
"Ahem...Sorry, cough, something delayed me."
Jean Dubarry coughed loudly and beat his lungs hard at the same time, looking weak. His body seemed to be infected with some serious lung disease:
"You received my letter, Jeanne, ahem, I'm so glad you can 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, Madame 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 an appointment.
Madame Du Barry frowned slightly, but first asked the question she was most concerned about:
"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 Laurence so much.
"I...cough..." Jean Dubarly 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 where I was."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Everyone knows that Jean Du Barry's power in the underworld, and Madame Du Barry has 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:
"Yes... evidence. I have some evidence. They were all... well, I stole them 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 joyful laughter even attracted the attention of all the guests in the cafe. They didn't know what could possibly provoke this beautiful woman to act 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 committed 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:
"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 Dubarly 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 Dubarry lowered his head and hesitated, then turned to look out the window, and then said slowly:
"Then... well, you can come with me. My residence is nearby and 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 Madame Du Barry to leave with him.
"Huh?" Madame Du Barry was suddenly startled and asked in confusion:
"Isn't your residence just over the Place des Vosges?"
Jean Du Barry'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 emotion:
"Don't worry, Jean, soon I will make that Bonaparte go through all the suffering you have 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, and Jean Dubarry walked very slowly. He didn't say anything 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 here, 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 on this 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 scare them.
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, lowered his head and remained silent.
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 at the head 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, M. 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.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The two of them once spent several wonderful nights in Lawrence's basement. Of course, it may not be so good for Mr. Du Barry.
Wonderful.
"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. He didn't expect that his disguise would be 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 collapsed and covered her mouth. 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 not a smile, mixed with an indescribable feeling of guilt and relief.
"I..." Jean Dubarry felt as if there was a mouthful of thick phlegm in his throat, and he choked on his words for a long time before he slowly said:
"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 in a daze and looked at Jean Du Barry in disbelief. Her beautiful light yellow dress was also stained
of 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 have no choice. You don't know...what kind of life I have been living in the past year...Those instruments of torture that you have never even heard of have been used on me, but this is not...
The most painful thing! In that dungeon, except for the torturer, I couldn’t see another living person all day long. I didn’t even know what time the sun rose and set. This kind of loneliness was more terrifying than the most terrifying devil!
I can’t even commit suicide there!”
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 instructing me...
Including today’s 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 released 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, who was stuffed into a sack like a sow covered in mud, and then he realized Grosso's question.
He asked blankly:
"where are we going?"
"Palace of Justice, M. Du Barry."
Grosso said quickly:
"Go there and complete your final mission, and then you can be truly free."