Just as the demonstrations near the Île de la Cité were in full swing, on the right bank of the Seine, in a small café in the Saint-Anthony district.

This is really a fairly ordinary café on the street, with only forty or fifty square meters of storefront, with a few small round tables and sofa chairs with broken skins scattered around.

The interior is also full of cheap atmosphere, and the figure paintings on the walls seem to be made by art school graduates, and even the floor here makes an unpleasant creaking sound when stepped on.

It can be said that there are at least 2,000 such humble cafes in Paris, and even the working class can come to these places every now and then to drink a slightly sour black coffee.

This morning, however, the number of customers, especially men, who visited the café had increased dramatically.

Just because since the early morning, there has been a beautiful woman with a beautiful face and a beautiful woman sitting in the corner of the café, as if waiting for someone.

From time to time, a single man approached her to ask for her name and address, but before anyone could say a word of greeting, they were driven away by two maids who were waiting beside her.

Of course, if these gentlemen had known that the beautiful lady sitting in the corner was His Majesty's official mistress, the famous Countess du Barry, they would have regretted their accosting.

Madame du Barry was dressed lightly and simply, not only did she not wear any makeup, but she did not even wear a piece of precious jewelry, but she came out of the Tuileries Palace in a rather modest yellow dress.

Even her two maids were dressed in a very simple way, like maids in the homes of two middle-class citizens.

Clearly, Madame du Barry did not want to be recognized. It was already close to noon, and Madame du Barry took out a delicate gold pocket watch and glanced at the time, and whispered impatiently: "Damn, it's not here yet." A maid looked carefully at Madame Dubarry's countenance, and did not know what kind of person deserved to be waiting here all morning.

All she knew was that Madame Dubarry had received a secret letter the previous night. After reading the letter, Madame decided to leave the Tuileries in a hurry early the next morning, and waited quietly at the café, where even His Majesty knew her whereabouts.

At last, just as Madame Dubarry was waiting impatiently and was about to leave, a haggard-looking man pushed open the creaking door of the shop and walked straight towards Madame Dubarry.

Madame du Barry, who had been waiting all morning, was not at all excited, she looked at the man coldly, and it was not until she saw his haggard face that she showed a hint of emotion, and whispered: "Jean Du Barry, you are finally here." "If you tell the gangsters that the man in front of them is a legend in their hearts, Jean Dubarry, I am afraid no one will believe it.

And only Jean Dubarry himself knows what kind of inhuman torture he has suffered in the past six months or so.

He was first kidnapped by Lawrence Bonaparte to 10 Champs-Élysées, tortured by Grosso, and after Lawrence left Paris, he was handed over to Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe under house arrest, where he was also tortured.

Madame Dubarry watched the man sit limply in front of her, and her eyes could not help but become complicated.

On the one hand, it was Jean Dubarry who forged a noble birth certificate for her, a street prostitute, and married her to Dubarry's brother who was count, thus bringing her into high society.

This gave Madame du Barry the opportunity to be appreciated by the Duke of Richelieu, and then introduced to Louis XV by the Duke of Richelieu, so that she had all the status and wealth of the king's mistress.

But on the one hand, Jean Dubarry also relied on the handle in his hands, and repeatedly asked her to speak well to the king and the Duke of Richelieu.

Jean Dubarry was able to qualify as a lackey of the Duke of Richelieu, and also had a good position in high society, thanks to Madame Dubarry's assistance and connections.

This also made Madame Dubarry love and hate this man, and even she herself could not tell which side she was leaning.

"Ahem... Sorry, ahem, something delayed time. Jean Dubarry coughed loudly, pounding his lungs hard, looking weak, his body seemed to be infected with some serious lung disease: "You have received my letter, Jeanne, ahem, I am glad you to come..."

Madame du Barry also determined from the handwriting of the letter, its diction, and some code words known between the two men that it was from his own handwriting.

Since Jean Dubarry had been missing for too long, and because he still had many of his own handles, Madame du Barry did not hesitate to go to the appointment.

However, in order to prevent outsiders, especially Louis XV, from doubting the relationship between the two, Madame du Barry did not tell the king about this trip, and specially concealed her identity before coming to this ordinary café for an appointment.

Madame Dubari frowned slightly, but first asked her the question she was most concerned about: "Let's not talk about this, where have you been these past few months?" I thought you were really kidnapped by Lawrence Bonaparte. In her eyes, Jean Dubarry was always controlled by Lawrence Bonaparte, which was one of the reasons why Madame Dubarry hated Lawrence so much.

"I... Ahem..."Jean Dubarry smiled bitterly, lowered his head and sighed, as if recalling the painful experience of being tortured: "I was indeed kidnapped by that kid and trapped in a basement in the suburbs, but fortunately I escaped, you know, I still have some loyal subordinates in the sewers, and they have found out my traces." "Jean Dubarry's power in the underworld is well known, and Madame Dubarry has no doubts about it.

She frowned, and was about to say something to comfort her, but her eyes suddenly lit up, and she patted her thigh excitedly and said, "Wait, in this case, don't you have evidence that Lawrence Bonaparte kidnapped you?" Jean Dubarry was stunned for a moment, rolled his eyes a little nervously, and stumbled: "Yes... Evidence, I have some evidence, it's all ... Well, I stole it from the goddamn Lawrence when he was running away. ”

"Great, finally!" Before the other could finish speaking, Madame du Barry burst out laughing with joy, and the silver bell-like laughter attracted the attention of all the guests of the café, who wondered what could have made the beautiful woman so excited.

"Lawrence Bonaparte, you have finally fallen into my hands." Madame du Barry could not help clenching her fists, laughing maniacally and muttering to herself, she really did not expect that leaving the Tuileries Palace this time would have such a great gain, and that she would actually catch the Corsican real proof of crime.

Madame Dubarry could not help laughing at the thought of how His Majesty would think that his most trusted courtiers would commit the crime of kidnapping and abuse in his land.

It wasn't until after another burst of laughter that Madame Dubari realized that she was a little out of shape, and said in a loud voice: "I'm sorry I'm too excited, but don't worry, the day of avenging you will soon come!" Where is the evidence? Take it and give it to me, and I'll present it to His Majesty tonight!" "Madame Dubarry hadn't been so happy in days since she had last been in front of the King and Lawrence.

Jean Dubarry, however, looked preoccupied, opening his mouth, but he stopped talking.

Madame du Barry thought that the pimp was trying to bargain for some profit, so she said very generously: "Leave it to me, Jean, and I will say a few kind words for you in front of the dukes, and let you do some errand with them." Jean Dubarry lowered his head and hesitated, then turned his head to look out the window before he said slowly: "That... Well, you come with me, my place of residence is nearby, the evidence is there... Your maids should stay here. With that, Jean Dubarry stood up with difficulty on the coffee table, and motioned for Madame du Barry to leave with him.

"Huh?" Madame du Barry was stunned for a moment, and asked suspiciously, "Isn't your place on the other side of the Place des Vosges?" Jean Dubarry's movements were stunned for a moment, but he immediately returned to normal, and said with a wry smile: "Ahem... How dare I show my face now, let alone return to the villa there, so that the damned Bonaparte does not know my whereabouts, I have rented an apartment near here. Madame du Barry then realized that she had not thought it through, and said very movingly: "Don't worry, let's, soon I will let that Bonaparte go through all your sufferings." Jean Dubarry, who was struggling to walk, stopped, turned his head to look at Madame du Barry, and suddenly said, "Thank you, Jeanne." With that, he continued to hold on to the back of the chair in the store and limped out.

Madame du Barry, on the other hand, put on her thin-brimmed tricorn hat with some confusion, and followed the other man's footsteps, and she had the impression that the hard-hearted man had not yet said thank you.

... The two left the café, and Jean Dubarry walked slowly, saying nothing along the way, just coughing loudly.

Soon, Jean Dubarley turned into a deep, winding alley. Madame du Barry stood at the end of the alley, and glanced at the dim path, which did not look like there was any human habit, much less like an apartment.

She didn't like this damp, dark, smelly place, especially after becoming the king's mistress, and she never wanted to step into the mud pit that would stain her boots again in her life.

But thinking of what Jean Dubarry had said, that he did not dare to show his face now, Madame du Barry understood a little, and quickened her pace to keep up.

And after a long time of walking on this muddy and snowy ground, Madame Dubarry finally became a little impatient, frowned and asked, "Let! Where are you living and how long are we going to go? This time, however, it was not Jean Dubarry's explanation that responded to her, but a playful laugh from the depths of the alley: "Madame, you don't have to go any further, and then we will send you where you belong." Immediately afterwards I saw seven or eight strong men come out of the corner of the alley, and the man at the head looked at Madame du Barry with a contemptuous smile, as if he had been waiting here for a long time.

Madame Dubarry frowned slightly, thinking that she was just some gangsters with lustful hearts, so she sneered, pointed to Jean Dubarry beside her, and said: "Fools, if you know each other, get out of here, do you know who he is?!" "For any gangster ruffian, Jean Dubarry's name is enough to make them tremble.

Madame du Barry sneered, wanting to see the scoundrels trembling and begging for mercy under the name of Jean Dubarry.

Jean Dubarry, however, did not report his name, he did not say anything, bowed his head and remained silent.

He didn't even dare to look up into the eyes of the strong man at the head. Madame Dubarry was stunned. She didn't understand why this man who was so surprised in the underground world actually bowed his head in front of several ruffians.

Madame Dubarry subconsciously wanted to reveal her true identity, but the next sentence of the strong man at the head instantly made her fall into an ice cave: "Madam, of course I know him, in fact, we are old acquaintances, right, Mr. Dubarry?" With that, Grosso stepped forward, chuckled and patted the silent Jean Dubarry, and even this slight gesture made Jean Dubarry shiver.

The two of them had spent a couple of wonderful evenings in Lawrence's basement, though perhaps not so much for Mr. Dubarry.

"Wait... You, I remember you, I have the impression..."Madame du Barry's pupils dilated for a moment, she subconsciously took a step back, her left hand tightly covered her chest, her right hand pointed at Grosso, and said in a lost voice: "You are... The people around Lawrence Bonaparte! At the pre-Christmas banquet at the Palace of Versailles, I remember you! "It was rare for a banquet at Versailles to have a tall Italian with a rude manner, and Madame du Barry was impressed by Grosso's presence at Lawrence.

Grosso scratched his head with a smile, he didn't expect his disguise to be recognized, but fortunately there was no one else in the alley, and he just said indifferently: "A lot of women remember me, ma'am, but that was after they climbed out of my bed." ”

"You! You guys! Madame Dubarry covered her mouth in a broken break, and she looked at Jean Dubarry, who bowed her head and was silent, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "Jean Dubarry! What's going on?! Why did Lawrence Bonaparte's people appear here?! Jean Dubarry turned his head slowly to look at Madame du Barry, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, but he seemed to be smiling, mixed with indescribable guilt and the pleasure of relief.

"I—" Jean Dubarry's throat seemed to be choked with a mouthful of thick phlegm, and he choked for a long time before he said slowly: "I'm sorry, Jeanne, I betrayed you." This sentence was like a bullet through Madame du Barry's heart, and she sat down in the mud puddle in disdain, looking at Jean Du Barry in disbelief, and her beautiful pale yellow dress was also stained with mud.

"I'm sorry... Jeana. Jean Dubarry closed his eyes and his voice trembled, as if he were explaining to Madame du Barry and as if he was excusing himself: "I was forced to be helpless, you don't know... What kind of life have I had for almost a year... All the torture instruments you haven't even heard of are on me, but that's not the most painful! In that dungeon, I could not see a second living person except the torturer, and I did not even know what time the sun rose and sunset, and this loneliness was even more terrible than the most terrible devil! I can't even kill myself there! After a pale roar, Jean Dubarry fell to the ground, crying with tears in the corners of his eyes: "Lawrence Bonaparte told me that only by cooperating with him can I be freed from this endless torment, and I, I can only trust him!" That letter was written to you at the behest of Bonaparte... Including today's meeting is also... In order to get you out of the palace..."Grosso slapped Jean Dubarry on the back of the head angrily, and scolded: "Monsieur Dubarly, if you say more, you will have to be freed in advance." Madame Dubarry, whose face was pale, finally came to her senses, she looked at Grosso in horror and asked sharply, "What do you want to do?!" You know I'm the Countess of Dubarry, and you dare to treat me like that?! ”

"Don't talk nonsense, ma'am, I'm afraid it's not you." Grosso winked at several of his companions behind him and ordered, "Tie up this woman and take her away, remember to seal her mouth, and let her keep her saliva to argue in court." As for you, Mr. Dubarry, you should be able to go on your own, right? Jean Dubarry watched in amazement as the noble official mistress, the noble Countess du Barry, was stuffed into a sack covered in mud like a sow, and then reacted to Grosso's question and asked blankly: "We... Where to? ”

"Palace of Justice, Mr. Dubarry." Grosso said quickly, "Go there and complete your final mission, and then you can be truly liberated." ”