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Chapter 542: Brought to Justice

As Joseph recounted in a devilish whisper, Fould and the other tax farmers trembled from head to toe, their hair standing on end.

However, Joseph continued: "I've heard that after that skinless blob of flesh emerges from underground, it usually remains alive, even writhing around in agony on the ground."

"Please, stop talking..." Morrel, already terrified by the torture, had closed his eyes and pleaded in a trembling voice.

Joseph nodded, seeing the others exhale in relief, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh, I almost forgot. They said there's one last step: pouring a bucket of boiling water over that blob of flesh!"

"Ah—" Morrel immediately collapsed onto the ground in fright, his trousers stained with urine.

The others also looked as if their souls were about to leave their bodies, or were clutching their chests and gagging.

Of course, Joseph hadn't learned this particular technique from the Intelligence Bureau—at most, they'd resort to 'tricks' like smashing fingers or driving wooden stakes through calves.

This was a prime example, "selected" from thousands of years of torture methods found in The Deer and the Cauldron, that could make anyone feel as if they had fallen into an endless purgatory just by hearing it once, experiencing despair and terror from the depths of their soul.

Seeing that they were all thoroughly shaken, Joseph immediately said in a stern voice, "If you believe your mouths are sealed enough to keep the secrets of your ill-gotten gains, by all means, try your luck."

Finally, Fould managed to compose himself, albeit with great difficulty, and said, utterly unwilling, "If you push me like this, I'll commit suicide! No one will benefit!"

Joseph's eyelids lifted slightly, and he slowly said, "If you pay the fines and accept the court's judgment, I can allow your descendants to inherit your titles and any remaining property.

"Your families, your surnames, will continue to exist."

Seeing that they still remained silent, he added, "Oh, right, with the exception of Bolloré, who instigated the attack and murdered the tax official, along with Barreau and De Cantler, who incited merchant caravans to disrupt national trade, and Antonel, whose tax collection syndicate was involved in numerous homicides, among others, the others, especially those with fewer legal infractions, might not be sentenced to death by the High Court."

Applying extreme pressure, then offering a glimmer of hope, while simultaneously dividing them as much as possible—this was always the best strategy for dealing with opponents who banded together in resistance.

Morrel quickly compared the information, and a look of pleasant surprise flashed in his eyes. He clearly belonged to the last category of people the Crown Prince had mentioned.

If he could save his life, why should he be tied to someone like Bolloré, who was destined for death?

He possessed a fortune of over 14 million francs. After paying the fines and deducting recent expenses, he should still have around 2 million francs left for his family and children.

Perhaps after serving a few years in prison, he could even be granted bail.

At this thought, he took a deep breath, took two steps forward on numb legs, and said with his head bowed, "Your Highness, I am willing to pay the fines. I only ask that you uphold your promise..."

Joseph nodded. "You've made the right decision. This is the attitude a penitent should have."

Fould watched Morrel with despair, feeling a pang of envy. As the head of the Tax Farmers' General Assembly, and having orchestrated many of the conflicts with the government this time, he naturally couldn't expect a lenient sentence.

But after much hesitation, he ultimately had no choice but to accept the Crown Prince's proposed solution.

He knew very well that when the Crown Prince had just said his family and descendants could inherit titles and property, it was actually a statement to be interpreted in reverse.

Even if he were sentenced to beheading by the court, at least these things would be guaranteed.

Moreover, Morrel and the others had already compromised, so even if he wanted to continue resisting, there was no hope of victory. What's more, it would give him the possibility of "experiencing" the terrifying mercury flaying method—he swore that no matter what he had to do, he absolutely did not want to be anywhere near that thing!

Soon, the two other tax farmers involved in the negotiations also accepted Joseph's proposal. The men, as if drained of all strength, left the Tuileries Palace with blank expressions to convey the negotiation results to the other tax farmers.

Just as Fould and the others exited, two carriages drove out of the Netherlands Embassy in France.

Intelligence Bureau agents monitoring the embassy's front gate exchanged glances with Tax Bureau investigators under a tree across the street, gestured to each other, and the Tax Bureau personnel rode off in pursuit.

They were here to monitor Hope.

This Dutch banker was clearly worried about being arrested by the Tax Bureau—the recent flurry of beheadings among tax farmers and their subordinates had truly terrified him—so he had hidden himself in the Netherlands Embassy a week prior.

Suddenly, the Tax Bureau personnel heard someone from the embassy calling out loudly, "Mr. Wisgertoff, have a good journey. Remember to tell my wife that I am doing well in Paris."

The investigators turned to look and saw Hope standing at a second-story window of the embassy, waving at the two carriages.

Someone also poked their head out of a carriage and waved back, responding with a few words.

However, the investigators cautiously followed the two carriages on horseback, and that evening, after the occupants had checked into a hotel, they carefully observed the group in secret—as they had no right to directly stop and search diplomatic personnel, this was their only method.

They were all embassy staff, and Hope was nowhere to be seen. 'Yes,' they thought, 'he must still be in the embassy.'

Thus, the two investigators rushed back to Paris overnight to continue their stakeout at the embassy.

What the two didn't expect was that just half an hour after they left, the Dutch diplomatic personnel slipped out, used tools to remove the carriage roof, and Hope immediately poked his head out from a false compartment.

In the other carriage, Van Kiewicz also jumped down from the roof, grumbling, but because his legs had been curled up and were completely numb, he immediately fell heavily to the ground.

The next morning, the two disguised themselves and blended into a merchant caravan, and two days later, they boarded a ship on the Picardy coast, sailing toward the nearest British port...

Over half a month later.

The Parlement of Paris announced its verdict on the prominent tax farmer, Bolloré—for 16 charges including the murder of a tax official, the murder of five other civilians, kidnapping, and smuggling, he was sentenced to beheading and ordered to pay an additional enormous fine of 10 million francs.

Although many tax farmers had already been tried before, and even met their 'Headless and Brainless' end, their influence was nowhere near as great as Bolloré's.

He was a notoriously famous usurer, controlling over a third of the usury market in northwestern France, and wielded immense influence in both political and business circles.

However, this time, he was cleanly and decisively sentenced to death!

At the same time, the court's verdict publicly exposed his numerous crimes, and even led to the downfall of France's largest smuggling syndicate in the northwest, which was unearthed as a result of his collapse.