The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Unable to Indict

Joseph checked the time. There was only one month left until the deadline for the tax bill's registration. In such a short period, to topple the President of the High Court, only unconventional methods would work.

Speaking of "unconventional methods," his mind immediately turned to the Police Affairs Department, so he gestured to Eymond: "Please send someone to fetch Fouché..."

He suddenly remembered that he still had to attend a tactical command lecture at the police academy today. "No, prepare a carriage. I’ll go in person."

Three carriages left the Palace of Versailles in succession, and several hours later, they entered the city of Paris.

As the carriage passed the Seine River, Joseph noticed a large wooden sign at the bridgehead on the east side. The sign, taller than two people, depicted a giant oil painting.

In the painting, an elegantly dressed noblewoman with a graceful posture held a small glass bottle. She sat in a cozy, elegant home, wearing a blissful and satisfied expression.

At the top of the painting were large letters: “No gifts this Christmas, only noblewoman’s joy!”

Below, in smaller print: "Noblewoman's Joy Health Liquid Christmas Grand Sale, free exquisite gift boxes."

The carriage moved on, and soon, two young men in flamboyant clothing waved flyers and loudly shouted, “Buy Paris Angel Cosmetics, get an 80% off voucher for Noblewoman's Joy Health Liquid with every 50 livres spent.”

Joseph silently nodded to himself. Manager Brent truly deserved his salary. Although the marketing idea was his own, the fact that Brent, as an 18th-century man, could understand it so well and put it into practice showed he was a business genius.

Perhaps it was time to consider giving him a bigger bonus.

Not long after, the carriage entered the Police Affairs Department.

Joseph went straight to the office and asked Fouché, "What leverage do we have on Vezinier?"

The head of intelligence had clearly memorized this information well. Without hesitation, he replied, "When Vezinier first became a judge in Paris, he accepted a bribe to pass Antoine brothers’ inheritance to their uncle.

"Then, the following year, in a noble carriage accident, he ruled that the person hit had deliberately startled the horse, awarding only 50 livres in compensation. He must have taken money for that too.

"And in the same year, in the Camille murder case, crucial evidence that could have convicted the murderer mysteriously disappeared from the court's evidence room, and the murderer was acquitted. It’s said that the murderer’s uncle gave the judge 8,000 livres.

"Two years later, in the Murder on Saddle Street case, the nobleman who killed someone bribed..."

Fouché went on for a while, causing Joseph’s frown to deepen. Ever since Vezinier became a judge, he had been accepting bribes and creating miscarriages of justice without pause.

Joseph interrupted Fouché, saying, "So, can I send someone to arrest him now?"

Fouché shook his head. "I’m afraid not."

"Why? The things he’s done are enough to hang him ten times over!"

Fouché looked embarrassed. "Most of these cases have only scattered records, or they were told to me directly by Mr. Malraux, but we haven’t found any solid evidence."

Joseph frowned at the news but quickly understood—Vezinier, being the one who manipulated the law, would undoubtedly be highly cautious about eliminating any evidence.

He extended his hand to Fouché. "Bring me his files, let’s see if there’s anything we can use."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Soon, a large stack of files, nearly half a meter thick, was placed on the desk in front of Joseph. It seemed that the Police Affairs Department had been working hard recently.

Joseph picked up the top file and opened it. It recorded Vezinier’s basic information:

"Henry François Minier de Vezinier, 56 years old, 5.5 French feet tall, weight...

"Inherited his father’s position as a judge in Grenoble at 33, elected as a local judge."

Judges at the time were such a marvel, blending hereditary and electoral systems perfectly, electing those who would inherit their positions from their ancestors.

"Six years later, transferred to the Paris High Court. At 51, he was elected President of the High Court..."

"Personal assets...

"Interests...

"Favorite foods...

"Frequent places..."

Almost every detail was listed. In fact, his parents and wife would not have known him this well.

Joseph picked up the next file, which detailed the President of the High Court’s social connections:

"Political allies: Duke of Aigion, Count of Ceyruliez...

"Political opponents...

"Close friends: Dacier, Judge of the Paris High Court, 49 years old...

"Valérier, Assistant to the Commissioner of Caen, 51 years old...

"...

"Ordinary friends...

"Enemies..."

The following files contained information about Vezinier’s home, including details about his house layout, coachman, gardener, cook, maids, and more.

What surprised Joseph most was a note on the file: Vezinier’s two maids had already been "handled" by Fouché's young agents.

The two girls were now completely under the sway of their handsome, romantic, and wealthy boyfriends. They would even gossip about how many yawns Vezinier had each day.

Joseph rubbed his forehead and smiled bitterly. Fouché had clearly gone a bit overboard—using those young women to gather information...

He put down the file and picked up a large stack of letters, noticing they were all Vezinier's personal correspondence from the past few years.

Fouché proudly added, "Your Highness, half of these were provided by the Black Room, and the rest were directly copied from Vezinier’s study."

By "Black Room," Fouché referred to the secret police’s postal spies, responsible for "reviewing" all letters. It was the most efficient department within the secret police. However, the Black Room could not compare to Fouché’s "maid" strategy—those letters from the study had likely been obtained through them.

Joseph asked, "Do any of these letters provide usable evidence?"

Fouché shook his head. "Anything useful for indicting him has likely been destroyed."

Joseph sighed and opened the last file, which contained the most information. It recorded all the cases Vezinier had handled.

Fouché added, "Your Highness, these were all 'taken' directly from the High Court's case archives. They are absolutely reliable."

Joseph nodded and began flipping through.

The first file was a property division case that was near its conclusion.

The second file was a recent manslaughter case, which had just started trial a little over ten days ago.

The case involved a small nobleman named Lunaché, who, driven by lust, kidnapped a 15-year-old common girl into his private art shop and assaulted her.

The girl’s 9-year-old brother came to her rescue, shouting loudly for help.

In a panic, Lunaché dragged the boy into the shop and killed him. Fearing the crime would be exposed, he then murdered the girl and dumped her body in the Seine River.

Several of the deceased’s belongings were found in Lunaché's shop, and neighbors saw the boy entering the store, so Lunaché was quickly arrested and charged.

Joseph could not help but sigh, pitying the siblings. According to the case file, the trial had already been held once, but no verdict had been reached yet.

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