The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Public Trial

In the courtroom, the young lawyer defending the victims listened with a smile as the judge twisted the truth, but he remained silent throughout.

Soon, amidst the anguished cries of the victims' parents, Vezinier raised his gavel and declared, "This court finds the charge of murder against Runashe unproven, and he is to be released."

Just as the gavel was about to fall, the young lawyer suddenly stood up, shouting, "This is an illegal ruling! You are trampling on the law!"

Vezinier shook his head. He had seen many young troublemakers like this. With a sneer, he waved his hand at the bailiffs, saying, "Get this man out of here! What’s his name? He will be charged with contempt of court."

The lawyer, unflinching, replied, "My name is Danton! Georges-Jacques Danton, go ahead and accuse me!"

He raised a few papers high above his head. "But, Your Honor, you must first explain what these letters are about!"

"Letters? What letters?" Vezinier looked at the papers and thought they seemed familiar. Suddenly, his face changed. Those appeared to be letters he had written to Valéan! How did they end up in the hands of this lawyer?!

The letters, of course, were handed over to the lawyer by the police.

Not long ago, Joseph had overheard Fouché mention that the lawyer for the victims of the "Runashe case" was named Danton. He immediately had someone check the high court's list of registered lawyers and discovered that only one person by the name of "Jacques Danton" was on it.

In other words, this young lawyer was the future leader of the Jacobins.

Historically, Danton was fiercely opposed to evil and had remarkable oratorical skills, easily inciting riots among thousands.

Thus, Joseph had decided to leave the task of handling Vezinier to him. For such a heinous case, Danton would surely create a stir.

In the courtroom, Danton leapt onto the chair in the audience section and loudly read aloud the incriminating parts of Vezinier's letter, which could serve as evidence: "My dear old friend, I have seen your servant. However, I must confirm, do you really want me to intervene in the Runashe case?"

"As for the money, it will be used for various bribes. You know, just the evidence room alone requires ten thousand livres, since destroying evidence is a grave crime..."

"I don’t know how they plan to handle the witness, but I swear to you, as long as that damned carpenter keeps his mouth shut, I can clear your nephew of all charges..."

"The poor Runashe must have suffered in that dank, cold prison. Oh, he was supposed to stay there until death, or even face the gallows. But rest assured, I will get him out after the next trial..."

"Bailiff! Stop him!" Vezinier screamed at Danton, his face red with fury. "He is lying!"

Before the bailiffs could react, Vezinier had already leapt out from behind the judge’s desk, his eyes bloodshot as he lunged at Danton.

However, Danton deftly dodged between the courtroom's tables and chairs, continuing to read from the letter.

When the crucial part was finished, he had reached the door of the courtroom. With one push, he sent the bailiffs standing there flying, and rushed out the door.

Outside the high court, a crowd of over a thousand citizens had gathered, many more than usual. They had been summoned by Marat, Démoulin, and others specifically for the trial.

Danton rushed to the iron gate of the court, shouting, "That shameless and despicable man just humiliated the law in front of everyone! He actually declared that murderer innocent!"

Angry shouts erupted from the crowd: "Hang the murderer!"

"Hang the corrupt judge too!"

"Hang him! He must be hanged!"

Danton motioned for the crowd to quiet down, raising the letter in his hand. "I have obtained the evidence of the judge’s corruption, and he will receive the punishment he deserves!"

A few bailiffs tried to stop Danton, but they were too intimidated by the thousand-strong crowd to approach.

In fact, just thirty steps away, over thirty police officers were waiting for action. If the bailiffs dared to intervene, they would rush in immediately to protect Danton.

Danton continued to shout, "To prevent these people from destroying evidence, I suggest we hold the trial here, in public!"

The crowd erupted again in a chorus of shouts:
"Public trial!"
"Right here, let us watch the trial!"
"Bring out the judge who released the murderer!"

And so, the angry crowd shouted for hours, growing larger and larger.

It wasn't until dusk that Chief Minister Brienne appeared, publicly promising that the royal court would take full responsibility, and that Vezinier's bribery case would be tried openly in the square in front of the high court. Only then did the crowd begin to disperse.

At eleven that night, Vezinier had his subordinates confirm that the protesters were no longer outside the court before he disguised himself in a coachman's outfit and sneaked out through the back door.

However, he didn’t know that the police had been watching him from the shadows.

Vezinier’s carriage had barely gone two streets when shouts rang out: "The judge who colluded with the murderer is here!"

"Quick, Vezinier has arrived!"

Torches lit up around him, and Marat, leading a group of over a hundred, charged forward, pulling Vezinier from the carriage and mercilessly beating him.

In a nearby corner, dozens of police officers realized the situation had gone far enough. They blew their whistles and stepped in, creating a barrier between the mob and Vezinier—after all, they couldn't allow the man to be killed outright, or there would be no trial left.

On the ground, Vezinier was barely recognizable, covered in blood and twitching.

Two days later, the royal court-appointed judges held a public trial of Vezinier outside the high court.

The royal court, under the direct control of the king, had once wielded considerable power before the reign of Louis XIV, but over time, its authority had been transferred to the high court and had become more of a ceremonial institution.

The judges never imagined they would actually preside over a trial again.

But with thousands of angry citizens watching, no one dared question their legitimacy.

Vezinier, with one leg broken and his body wrapped in bandages, lay on the side, groaning in pain.

Danton handed the letters to the judges, claiming that Vezinier had more at home.

The judges immediately ordered a search of Vezinier’s residence, and in his study, they found letters from "Valéan."

The letters exchanged between the two corroborated the fact that Vezinier had accepted bribes to clear Runashe of charges.

Vezinier, lying on a wooden board, couldn’t understand why these letters had reappeared after he had burned them.

In reality, "Valéan" had written two copies of each letter. One for Vezinier to burn, and the other secretly placed in his study by her maid.

Soon after, the Montreuil family was summoned to testify. With the evidence and the furious glare of the crowd, the couple quickly admitted to bribing the judge.

The royal court then publicly declared Vezinier guilty of bribery, obstruction of justice, and destruction of evidence, sentencing him to fifty years in prison. Due to his corrupt behavior, all his previous cases were also ordered to be re-tried.

The crowd of thousands cheered loudly, but Danton, Marat, and the others were not as jubilant. The only verdict they wanted was hanging.

My younger brother has started a poll in the readers' circle regarding the fate of Robespierre. Please, all you great readers, cast your valuable vote.

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