The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 95

Chapter 95: "Kick Someone When They're Down"

A few judges from the Special Court immediately withdrew to one side, and the Chief Justice of the High Court, Count Vadié, stepped forward, trembling as he repeated the earlier verdict and signed his name, stamping the seal.

Since the Special Court did not have judicial authority, the procedure had to be formally handled by Vadié to meet the legal requirements. Only then could Vezinier be truly convicted.

Immediately, voices of protest arose from the crowd of onlookers: "Judicial authority! The Special Court must have judicial authority!"

"We cannot let those shameless judges judge themselves!"

"Those High Court officials only cover for each other!"

"Right! They’re unqualified! Let the Special Court judge!"

After a few individuals led the charge, the chants soon grew to thousands strong, and the word “judicial authority” echoed through the sky.

In reality, it was Joseph’s arrangement to have the royal Special Court take the lead, and today, those leading the chant for judicial authority had been well-prepared.

Joseph had worked tirelessly, pulling every string to create a crack in the High Court, and now, he was ready to kick them when they were down... Ah, no, he meant to press the advantage and completely tear apart the monster nurtured by the noble factions!

It wasn’t until Vezinier was carried away that the judges of the Special Court promised to report the issue of judicial authority to His Majesty the King. Only then did the citizens gradually quiet down.

That afternoon, the entire High Court was shrouded in a gloomy and despondent atmosphere, but everyone was extremely busy. There were simply too many cases that Vezinier had presided over, and the work required to review them all was immense. For now, the court’s entire focus was on this task.

Meanwhile, in the meeting room on the third floor, five senior judges were voting on the new tax legislation.

"I support passing the registration," Diport raised his hand first.

Vadié, even quicker than Judge Glet of Diport's faction, raised his hand: "I also agree."

The gruesome scars on Vezinier’s body still lingered in his mind. Now, he only hoped that all of this could end quickly so that he could return to his former tranquility.

Without Vezinier’s suppression, all four judges quickly agreed to register the bill.

Only the old noble faction’s Luò cast a sullen abstention.

A beam of sunlight pierced through the window of the conference hall, casting a light on the text of the bill on the table.

Diport surveyed the other judges, then opened the document. Shielding the sunlight with his left hand, he took a pen with his right and wrote “Approved for Registration,” before stamping it firmly with the High Court’s seal.

After a year-long delay, the bill had been rejected multiple times, causing one finance minister to be dismissed and used as a tool for the noble factions to suppress the monarchy. Now, it was finally passed!

With Joseph’s meticulous planning, the power balance between the expanding noble influence and the retreating royal power had been completely overturned.

Versailles Palace.

In the comfortable and elegant concert hall, Queen Marie, upon hearing that the tax law, which had tormented her for nearly a year, was finally passed, almost danced with joy. She immediately lavished praise on Briand, not holding back her compliments.

Afterward, the judges of the Special Court reported to her about the protesters demanding judicial authority.

Having been disgusted by the High Court for so long, the Queen was not about to miss this opportunity to vent her frustration. Without hesitation, she signed an edict granting the Special Court the authority to handle all cases involving Vezinier.

When the nobles learned of this, although they were eager to oppose it, none dared to show their opposition.

Now, the affair of Vezinier had stirred up a great deal of noise. Anyone who spoke out against it would surely be branded as an accomplice of the corrupt judges, facing public scorn from all of Paris.

Public opinion was no longer in their hands, and attempting to muddle the situation was impossible.

However, the Queen was also deeply concerned about the situation of the over thousand protesters who had been disrupting the High Court for over a month—no ruler could remain calm in the face of such large-scale street demonstrations.

She immediately ordered Briand to disperse the crowd and restore peace to Paris.

Upon hearing about the royal decree regarding Vezinier, Joseph felt a wave of relief. With this, the next steps would be much easier.

He had initially thought that, given the Queen’s tendency to procrastinate and be indecisive, he would have to personally persuade Briand, but to his surprise, her actions were swift this time.

Perhaps the passage of the tax bill had subconsciously boosted her confidence.

Now, with a little more effort from the judges of the Special Court, the High Court would likely collapse under the pressure.

In the Crown Prince's reception room, three judges from the Special Court were sitting respectfully on the sofa, all listening intently.

From the few words that Archbishop Briand had let slip, they had learned that their appearance at the High Court was an opportunity granted by His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.

Joseph smiled at the three, asking, "I wonder what the three of you think about the future of the Special Court?"

The judges exchanged glances. Apart from giving legal advice to the nobles at Versailles Palace, what else could the Special Court do?

Joseph continued, gently guiding them, "If the trial of Vezinier goes well, perhaps it will set a precedent, and in the future, trials involving judges, prosecutors, and others will be handled by the Special Court."

The judges’ eyes immediately lit up.

The oldest judge keenly grasped the key point in Joseph's words and hurriedly asked, “Your Highness, what do you mean by a ‘successful trial’?”

Joseph said solemnly, “Punish Vezinier severely and return justice to those who have been wronged by his unfair rulings.”

“You mean the cases he presided over?” the judge asked.

Joseph nodded, “Close the cases as quickly as possible and pass harsher judgments.”

The judges had roughly reviewed the case files and immediately someone hesitated, “Your Highness, many of those cases are from years ago, and there is a lot of missing evidence…”

Joseph coldly smiled, “Did Vezinier care about evidence when he judged those cases?”

The oldest judge immediately realized, nodding, “Your Highness, we understand what we must do.”

Joseph reassured them, “Vezinier is now the symbol of evil. Everyone is waiting for his immediate demise, and no one will care if the trial process has any flaws.”

The next day, the public trial of Vezinier continued in the square in front of the High Court.

Victims of the wrongful cases created by Vezinier arrived at the scene, many of whom had been brought by Marat.

As the trial began, the thousands of citizens watching immediately fell silent.

To everyone’s surprise, in less than half an hour, a case from three years ago was announced to be retried. The killer, who had been acquitted, was to be apprehended once again. Vezinier now faced new charges of accepting bribes, protecting criminals, and tampering with testimonies.

The crowd immediately erupted into prolonged cheers, and the family of the deceased from that case were on their knees, crying and crossing themselves.

Table of content - Next Chapter >>>