From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

The cold wind blew against the grandstand located on the top floor of the main hall.

Although the field of vision here was extremely wide, no one saw even a single police soldier or city defense force.

As far as the eye can see, there is a gray sea of ​​people. I am afraid that even the grandest celebration cannot gather so many citizens in one place.

Louis XV sat weakly on a wicker chair. Combining the banners underneath and the rumors he heard this morning about Madame Du Barry's misappropriation of relief funds, he almost guessed that this group of people came for Madame Du Barry.

It's just that His Majesty the King is puzzled to understand what his dear Jeanne Bequ has done to trigger such an unimaginable protest.

"Where is Madame Du Barry?" Louis XV suddenly asked.

The courtiers looked at each other in confusion. No one knew where Madame Du Barry was at this time. Someone stepped forward and reminded:

"Madame du Barry left the Tuileries this morning, and you have been informed of this, Your Majesty."

Louis XV waved his hands impatiently and said:

"I mean where is she now!"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion for a while. Those who could stay with Louis XV were all at the top of the royal bureaucracy, but they had not received any reports about Madame Du Barry from their servants.

No one even knew that Madame Du Barry was in the Tuileries Palace at this moment.

Seeing the clueless looks of his courtiers, Louis XV suppressed the anger in his heart and exhaled a long white breath.

"Your Majesty, why don't you go back to the greenhouse, it's very windy here."

Caesar Gabriel glanced at His Majesty the King, whose face was pale in the cold wind, and suggested softly:

"If there is any situation, we will report it to you as soon as possible. Moreover, judging from the current situation, these mobs will not do anything for a while."

"No!"

Louis XV clung to the armrests of the wicker chair and stared at the crowd below with gritted teeth. Every word he spoke seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth:

“I will not leave until I see the last citizen leave the Tuileries.”

"His Majesty."

Caesar Gabriel hesitated to say something else. Many people in the court knew that His Majesty the King's health was deteriorating day by day.

Because of his love for finding flowers and asking for willows, Louis XV favored countless women, which inevitably made him contract some unspeakable diseases.

In his prime, Louis XV might have been able to withstand those stubborn diseases with his healthy body, but the old king is now sixty years old, and his aging is not only reflected in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and increasingly dry skin. On.

Everyone looked at His Majesty the King with worry, hoping that he would not hold on in the cold wind.

At this moment, a courtier in the crowd suddenly pointed to a street in the distance with wide eyes and said in disbelief:

"Wait. What is that?!"

Everyone was shocked and before they could react, the courtier covered his mouth and exclaimed:

"A carriage? Coming towards the Tuileries?"

People subconsciously looked in the direction of the courtier's finger. It was really a large troika, slowly driving through the crowded crowd towards the Tuileries Palace.

"It's impossible. The area around here has been blocked for a long time. How did the carriage get in?"

"Isn't he afraid of being overturned by the mob, including people and cars?!"

"Whose car is it?"

Everyone present, except Caesar Gabriel, and even His Majesty the King, stared blankly at the carriage that was struggling to move through the crowd.

They know very well that not to mention the poor at the bottom, even the middle class cannot afford such a large troika.

In other words, the owner of the carriage must be a dignitary from the upper class, and it is impossible for him to be with these mobs.

But this only made everyone more confused as to which noble or bureaucrat was desperate enough to dare to drive the carriage into this quagmire filled with the anger of the people at this time.

Isn't he afraid of being torn to pieces on the spot by this angry and angry mob? !

And no one in the stands could answer these questions. Everyone could only stare at the unexpected carriage in shock and confusion, watching it seem like a lone boat traveling on the turbulent sea of ​​people, slowly approaching Du. Illery Palace.

It wasn't until the carriage got close enough that the courtiers could vaguely see the coat of arms on the wall of the carriage.

However, that very familiar coat of arms did not answer any of their doubts. Instead, it made the courtiers scream out in surprise:

"That's a black Moorish profile! It's the coat of arms of Corsica!"

"Is it Monsignor Bonaparte's car?!"

"Why did Monsignor Bonaparte come to the Tuileries Palace at this time?!"

No courtier could figure out how Laurence Bonaparte could appear in the Tuileries Palace at such a time and at such great risk.

In the eyes of these noble courtiers, those lowly and unruly people are all vicious thugs who have no eyes or brains. They may overturn His Excellency Bonaparte's car on the spot at any time and kill this heroic Corsican. Trampled into a puddle of flesh.

Thinking of the bloody scene, the courtiers all subconsciously took a breath of air and broke into a cold sweat for the Lord Bonaparte who was in extreme danger.

Louis XV also stared closely at the conspicuous Corsican coat of arms on the carriage, making sure that he had not seen it wrong due to his presbyopia, and then muttered to himself in confusion:

"Lawrence? Does he know any news? He actually wants to cross this fierce mob to report to me regardless of the danger?"

Thinking of this, Louis XV's face suddenly showed a trace of emotion, and a crystal teardrop even flowed from the corner of his eye, and he sighed with emotion:

"What a loyal and brave man who puts his own safety at risk!"

After saying that, Louis XV stood up suddenly and ordered loudly:

"Come here, please immediately send an order to the Swiss Guard and ask them to send a detachment to protect Laurence Bonaparte's car. You must protect Laurence Bonaparte's body just like you protect me. Do you understand!"

"His Excellency Bonaparte"

In the carriage, Dean Edmund looked through the window at the crowds of demonstrators outside. He couldn't help feeling frightened and said to Lawrence worriedly:

"Are you sure these citizens won't attack us? These people at the bottom hate the powerful the most."

As the distinguished President of the High Court, President Edmund did not want to end up being torn to pieces by a group of untouchables.

And Lawrence was still quietly closing his eyes and concentrating, as if they were driving on a quiet country road rather than the center of a lively protest crowd.

Faced with Dean Edmund's concerns, Lawrence just opened his eyes and glanced at the crowd outside the window in a symbolic way, and said nonchalantly:

"Please rest assured, Mr. Dean, I should still have some reputation in the hearts of Paris citizens."

"Fame? You mean. I see."

Dean Edmund was stunned for a moment, then nodded in realization.

He also knew about the charity auction held by Lawrence a week ago. Through this kind act, Monsignor Bonaparte would indeed gain a good status among the citizens of Paris in the short term.

In fact, this was indeed the case. When the crowded crowd heard the stable boy shouting: "This is the carriage of His Excellency Bonaparte!", they all actively gave way to a passage:

"Is it Monsignor Bonaparte?! Is he going to the Tuileries too?"

"This direction should be correct."

"That's right! I heard that Your Excellency Bonaparte and Madame Du Barry are at odds. The necklace that Your Excellency Bonaparte donated for auction was won from Madame Du Barry."

"It's unmistakable. Since Madame Du Barry has misappropriated the charity donated by Monsieur Bonaparte, he must go to the palace to report the matter in person."

"Let Monsieur Bonaparte go over! He will definitely be able to bring Madame Du Barry out!"

The citizens did not show the extreme hatred towards Laurence Bonaparte, as Louis XV and his courtiers had imagined.

On the contrary, the citizens were already grateful to Laurence Bonaparte for organizing the charity auction. At this moment, they also had a common enemy as Madame Du Barry.

The demonstrators already regarded Laurence Bonaparte as their ally, and even pinned their hopes of bringing back Madame Du Barry on this carriage slowly driving towards the palace.

"Huh, that's good."

Dean Edmund breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was still frowning. He stared at Lawrence for a while and then said:

"It's just. Your Excellency, you can just stay behind the scenes. Is it necessary to go to the Tuileries Palace in person? I'm worried that this will make His Majesty the King suspicious."

Since the High Court and the Duke of Choiseul were staunch allies who were almost tied together, Dean Edmund naturally regarded Lawrence as a powerful ally and did not want him to lose his position in front of the throne.

"No, Mr. Dean, I must go there in person." Lawrence said without opening his eyes:

"It is impossible for me to completely put aside my connection with all this. If I hide behind the scenes in this situation, it will only make His Majesty suspicious."

As he spoke, Lawrence slowly opened his eyes, leaned against the window and looked at the Tuileries Palace not far away, and added:

"To advance before retreating, to enter the situation with one's own body, this is the only way."

More than twenty minutes later, in the Throne Hall of the Tuileries Palace.

Louis XV was already distracted by waiting here. He couldn't wait to know what was happening outside and what happened to his dear Jeanne.

"His Majesty."

Lawrence and Dean Edmund were escorted by a group of guards to the throne room and bowed to His Majesty the King.

"No need, get up quickly."

Louis XV could not sit still for a moment on the throne. He stood up and walked to Lawrence to help him up. Then he frowned and glanced at Dean Edmund next to him:

"Edmond Lavas de Saint-Denis? Why are you here?"

His Majesty the King did not like the President of the Paris High Court. Strictly speaking, Louis XV hated President Edmond extremely.

This disgust stems not only from the long tradition of the High Court's confrontation with the royal power, but also because Dean Edmund once did something that made His Majesty the King furious:

Historically, in 1765, Louis XV appointed the Duke of Aiguillon to serve as governor of Brittany and ordered the Duke of Aiguillon to try to control the judges of the High Court of Brittany.

After receiving the news, Dean Edmond went to the High Court of Brittany to jointly fight against the royal family's intervention in the local high court. This also caused widespread people's tax resistance and judges' strikes in Brittany at that time.

In the end, the Duke of Aiguillon returned to Paris in despair less than half a year after taking office as Governor-General. Louis XV's plan was completely frustrated. The king also deeply resented Dean Edmond because of this incident.

Lawrence was certainly well aware of this historical event and was very aware of the conflict between Abbot Edmund and Louis XV.

And this is why Lawrence deliberately chose the President of the High Court to accompany him instead of Justice Maupe.

With Dean Edmund in front, he could absorb most of the anger and doubts coming from His Majesty the King. Louis XV's suspicions about all the strange things would also subconsciously come to Dean Edmond's mind.

Anyway, President Edmond is not afraid of His Majesty the King's wrath. Relying on the independence of the High Court that has been passed down to this day, Louis XV has no good way to take down the President of the Paris High Court without evidence.

The aging Dean Edmund stood up with difficulty with the help of a servant, bowed his head respectfully and said:

"I happened to have experienced the entire process of this riot, and I came here to report to you the story of this riot, Your Majesty."

Although he was politically opposed to the royal power, Abbot Edmund was still very deferential and humble in his etiquette.

Louis XV frowned and said nothing. Instead, he turned to look at Lawrence aside and asked softly:

"Then, dear Lawrence, what are you here for?"

Lawrence had already prepared a set of words and answered sincerely:

"When the riot broke out, I happened to be in the Palace of Justice discussing the coronation ceremony of His Majesty with Justice Maupu. Later, the President wanted to enter the palace to report everything to you, but I was worried that I could not bypass the mob outside, so I went Propose to bring Dean Edmund in in a carriage."

After saying that, Lawrence did not forget to pat his chest, and added with a wry smile as if he was surviving a disaster:

"Fortunately, the people outside are also willing to let my carriage pass. Maybe it's because I happened to organize the charity auction not long ago. It's really lucky."

"That's it. Your dedication really moved me, Lawrence."

Louis XV nodded in enlightenment and said with great emotion.

In the king's opinion, Edmund, a disgusting old bastard, would never have been able to enter the Tuileries Palace if he had not been hidden in Lawrence's carriage.

When he thought that this Corsican was like a sailor in a storm, riding a solitary carriage through the turbulent crowd of villains, just to inform him of the news as soon as possible, Louis XV was filled with emotion for a moment. Wan Qian repeatedly lamented that he had not misjudged the person.

Now that he had figured out the purpose of the two people coming to the Tuileries Palace, Louis XV looked at Dean Edmond impatiently and asked sternly:

"You said you experienced the whole riot? What happened? Weren't you staying at the Palace of Justice?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Dean Edmund swallowed, organized some words and said concisely:

“Under the pressure of this mob, the Palace of Justice and the High Court of Justice were forced to put Countess Du Barry on trial.”

"What did you say?"

Louis XV could not believe that what reached his ears was a sentence in French.

The High Court tried Madame Du Barry? How could such a ridiculous thing happen? !

Louis XV suddenly felt dizzy, and it took him a while to finally recover. His eyes were as wide as a reptile's, and he clenched his fists and shouted sternly:

"Wait, that means Madame Du Barry is still in the Palace of Justice?! Why don't you bring her with you!"

Dean Edmund was startled for a moment and asked subconsciously:

"What do you mean? Your Majesty, isn't Madame Du Barry in the palace?"

Louis XV was also stunned, shaking his head and saying:

"Of course not. If she returned to the Tuileries Palace, how could I not know?"

The two looked at each other blankly. If Madame Du Barry was not in the palace or the Palace of Justice, where else could she be?

Just when the king and Dean Edmund were confused, a young man's voice came from the door of the throne room:

"Madame du Barry is here, grandfather."