Unable to Implicate Him

Joseph calculated the time; there was only one month left until the deadline for Registration the Tax Law. To bring down the Chief Justice of the High Court in such a short time, he would have to resort to unconventional methods.

The mention of "unconventional methods" immediately brought to mind the Police Intelligence Division, so he gestured to Eman and said, "Please send someone to fetch Fouche..."

He suddenly remembered that he had to go to the Police Academy for Tactical Command Class today. "No, get the car ready, I'll go myself."

Three Carriage drove out of the Versailles Palace one after another, and entered the city of Paris a few hours later.

As soon as the car crossed the Seine River, Joseph saw a large wooden sign, taller than two people, standing at the eastern end of the bridge, with a huge oil painting on it.

The painting depicts a graceful and elegantly dressed Noblewoman holding a small Glass, sitting in a warm and refined home, her face radiating happiness and contentment.

At the very top of the painting is a row of huge words. "No gifts this Christmas, except for the delightful gift of Lady Joy!"

Below is a line of smaller print. "Lady Joy Health Tonic Christmas Special Offer, Free Exquisite Gift Box Included."

After the car drove a little further, two brightly dressed young people stood by the roadside waving flyers and shouting, "Buy Paris Angel Cosmetics, and get a 20% off coupon for Lady Joy Health Tonic with purchases over 50 Livre!"

Joseph nodded inwardly; Manager Brent was indeed worth his salary. Although he had come up with the marketing idea himself, for an 18th-century man to understand it so thoroughly and put it into practice was truly the work of a business genius.

We could consider giving him a larger bonus.

Before long, the Carriage drove into the Police Intelligence Division.

Joseph went straight into the office and asked Fouche, "What dirt can we have on Weijinie?"

The intelligence chief, who had clearly memorized the information perfectly, replied without hesitation, "In his first year as a judge in Paris, he accepted a bribe and awarded the Antoine brothers' estate to their uncle."

The following year, in a case involving Nobility's Carriage hitting a person, the person who was hit was found guilty of deliberately startling the horse and was only ordered to pay 50 Livre in compensation. He must have been paid in kind.

"In the same year, in the Camille home invasion murder case, evidence against the murderer disappeared from the court's evidence room, and the murderer was acquitted. It is said that the murderer's uncle gave the judge 8,000 Livre."

Two years later, the Saddle Street Murder Case revealed that the Nobility who committed the crime had accepted bribes...

He spoke for a long time, which made Joseph frown. Ever since he became a judge, this Weijinie had been accepting bribes and fabricating wrongful convictions almost without stopping.

Joseph interrupted Fouche, "So, you're saying I can send someone to arrest him right now?"

"This..." Fouche his head, "I'm afraid that won't work."

"Why? What he did deserves to be hanged ten times over!"

Fouche said awkwardly, "These cases are at most based on some scattered records, or simply on what Mr. Marat told me; we haven't found any conclusive evidence yet."

Joseph frowned upon hearing this, but quickly understood – Weijinie himself was a lawyer and would certainly be very careful to destroy evidence.

He held out his hand to Fouche and said, "Bring me this guy's file, see if there's anything we can use."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Soon, a huge stack of documents, nearly half a meter thick, was placed on the table in front of Joseph, clearly indicating that the Police Intelligence Division had been working very hard lately.

Joseph picked up the top document and opened it; it contained basic information about Weijinie:

Henry - François Weijinie, 56 years old, 5 feet tall, weight...

"At the age of 33, he succeeded his father, who was a judge in Grenoble, and was elected as the local judge."

Judges these days are so amazing; they can perfectly combine hereditary and electoral systems, electing positions inherited from their fathers.

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

Personal property...

"Interest...

Favorite food...

"Places I frequent..."

Almost everything, big and small, was listed. It's safe to say that Weijinie's parents and wife couldn't possibly know him that well.

Joseph picked up the next document, this one detailing the court president's social connections:

Political allies: Duke of Aiguillon, Earl of Serulier...

Political opponents...

"A close friend: Dacier, a judge of the Paris High Court, 49 years old..."

"Vareilles, Assistant Commissioner of the Caen Municipal Commissioner, 51 years old..."

"...

"Ordinary friends..."

"Enemy..."

The next document details the Weijinie household, including the layout of his house, and information about his coachman, gardener, cook, maids, and so on.

What surprised Joseph the most was that the document specifically noted that both of Weijinie's living room maids had been "taken care of" by the young man sent by Fouche.

These two girls are now completely obedient to their handsome, romantic, and wealthy boyfriends. They can even find out how many times Weijinie each day.

Joseph sighed and Fouche. Fouché was practically obsessed; he was willing to harm a young girl just to get some information...

He put down the documents in his hand and picked up a large stack of letters, discovering that they were all Weijinie's private letters from recent years.

Fouche to the side, boasted, "Your Highness, half of these were provided by the Black Room, and the rest were copied directly in Weijinie's Study."

The "Black Room" he mentioned was the Secret Police's Postal Service Spy, responsible for "inspecting" all kinds of mail; it was the most efficient department in the Secret Police. However, the Black Room was still no match for Fouche's "maid" tactics; the letters in those Study were probably obtained by them.

Joseph asked, "Is there any usable evidence in these letters?"

Fouche shook his head. "Anything that could be used to prove his innocence has probably been destroyed."

Joseph reluctantly opened the last document, which was also the most detailed, containing information on all the cases handled by Weijinie.

Fouche added, "Your Highness, these were all taken directly from the High Court's Records Archive; they are absolutely reliable."

Joseph nodded and began to read.

The first case is a property division case, and the trial is nearing its end.

The second case is a rape and murder case, which only began trial more than ten days ago.

The case involves a Lesser Nobility Lunache, overcome by lust, abducts a 15-year-old commoner girl and assaults her in his own Oil Painting Shop.

During this time, the girl's 9-year-old brother followed the trail to the door and shouted for help.

In a moment of desperation, Lunache dragged the boy into the house and killed him. Fearing exposure, he then killed the girl as well and dumped her body in the Seine River.

Because several of the deceased's belongings were found in the Lunache family's shop, and a neighbor saw the boy enter the Oil Painting Shop, Lunache was quickly arrested and charged.

Joseph couldn't help but sigh, feeling sorry for the siblings. According to the case file, the case had already been heard once, but a verdict had not yet been announced.

Many thanks to reader 20190308132024238 for their generous donation to this book. Tian Hai Shan is deeply grateful!

(End of this chapter)

→