World Literature Classics Library: The Count of Monte Cristo

Chapter 123 Prosecutor's Office (1)
Regardless of how the banker hurried back to the mansion, let's take a look at where Mrs. Tanglar went for a stroll at noon.As we have said, at 12:[-] noon, Mrs. Tangla ordered the car to be prepared, and then left the mansion by car.Now she ran in the direction of Saint-Germain, took the Rue Mazarina, stopped the carriage in the alley in front of the Pont Neuf, got out and walked through the alley.She was dressed very simply, befitting a refined lady who liked to go out in the morning.In Kenego Street she hailed a cab, and only pointed to Arlie Street, as if that was where she was going.As soon as she got into the cab, she took out a thick black veil from her pocket, put it on her straw hat, then put on the hat, looked in the small mirror, and found that it was only her fair skin and shiny black eyes It is still exposed outside, and people can see it, and they can't help but feel very happy.The cab took the Pont Neuf, passed through the Place Dauphine, and drove into the courthouse in the Rue d'Arlais.As soon as the coachman opened the door, the fare was paid to the coachman.Mrs. Tangra hurried to the door of the building, stepped up the steps briskly, and entered the lounge of the court.

There are many cases to be handled in the morning, and there are even more busy people in the court.When people are busy, they don't pay much attention to women. When Mrs. Tanglar passed through the lounge, she was as unobtrusive as the dozen or so women who were waiting for the lawyer there.M. de Villefort's anteroom was full of people, but Mme. Donglas did not even have to announce her name. As soon as she entered, a bailiff rose to meet her, and asked her if she was appointed by the prosecutor. Ma'am to see.No sooner had she replied that it was she than the bailiff led her into Villefort's office through an interior corridor.

The prosecutor was sitting in a chair writing with his back to the door when he heard the door open and the bailiff say, "Come in, ma'am," and then the door shut again, but he didn't make any movement until he felt the bailiff After the sound of his footsteps gradually went away and completely disappeared, he turned around in a hurry, went over to plug the latch of the door, drew the curtains, and looked carefully at every corner of the office.Then he was relieved to be sure that no one could see them or overhear them. "Thank you, ma'am," he said, "thank you for being punctual." Then he moved a chair, and Mrs. Tanglar sat down at once, for her heart was beating so hard that she could hardly breathe. . "Yes," said the prosecutor, sitting down, and turning his chair half a turn, so that he was facing Mrs. Tangra, "yes, madam, I haven't had the pleasure of talking to you alone for a long time .But I'm sorry, it's a painful topic when we meet today."

"But you also see, Monsieur, that although I am more distressed by today's conversation than you are, I came as soon as you called me."

Villefort smiled wryly. "So, that sentence is right," he said, as if he was answering what was in his own heart, rather than Mrs. Tangra. All kinds of behaviors leave traces, but some are sad and some are brilliant! Really, the steps we have taken in our life are like reptiles crawling on the sand, leaving long traces. Unfortunately, , and for many, these blots are the traces of their tears!"

"Sir," said Mrs. Donglas, "you know how much I suffer, don't you? So, I beg you, please forgive me. This is a house where so many sinners have come here trembling and ashamed; this chair, How frightened and ashamed I am now when it is my turn to sit!... Oh! Do you know that I must keep all my sanity in order not to think of myself as a reprehensible woman, not to Think of you as a horrible inquisitor."

Villefort shook his head and sighed again. "And I," he said, "I said to myself, that I am not sitting in the judge's seat, but in the little wooden bench on which the accused sits."

"You?" Madam Tangera asked in astonishment.

"yes, I."

"I think that, as far as you are concerned, you have exaggerated the matter by being too self-disciplined," said Mrs. Donglas, for a moment a flash of light flashed in her beautiful eyes. "The imprints you mentioned just now are all left by the unrestrained emotions in youth. In the depths of passion, apart from joy and sorrow, there will always be a touch of regret. Therefore, the "Gospel" is the most important thing for all unfortunate people. The everlasting hope of God, who comforted us poor women, and told us eloquently the stories of straying girls and sluts. So when I think back to the sluts of my youth, I sometimes cannot help feeling that God has given Forgive me, for I tormented myself for the past, and if not pardoned, at least pity. But you men, everyone forgives you, and shame ennobles you, so what have you to fear? ?”

"Madame," replied Villefort, "you know me. I am not a hypocrite, at least I do not pose without cause. If my brow is too serious, it is because of the many misfortunes I have seen. Gloomy. If my heart has become hard as stone, it is to be able to withstand blows. I was not like this when I was young. On the night of my engagement, we were at the Marquis in the Rue de Cour, Marseilles. I was not like this when I sat around the same table. But since then, I and everything around me have changed a lot. I know that the mountains are high and the waters are dangerous, but I still pursue them. It's just a coincidence, causing trouble on my way, I've got to frustrate them one by one, and I've spent my life doing it. As long as it's something we desperately want, but it's in someone else's hands , We ask or seize from them, they will inevitably not want to try their best to keep these things. Therefore, most of people's faults are found by themselves. or in the delirium of madness, we all see that it could have been avoided. We could have resorted to righteous means, but we are blinded by insanity, but in hindsight it is very Easy. And then you say to yourself, Why didn't I do that instead of this? You ladies, on the contrary, are seldom troubled by remorse, because your misfortunes are almost always imposed upon you when you rarely make up your own minds. Your faults are almost always the sins of others."

"But all in all, sir, you should see," replied Mrs. Donglas, "that if I committed any fault, it was my own fault, and I was severely punished last night."

"Poor woman!" said Villefort, holding Madame Tangra's hand tightly, "this is too severe, and indeed it is beyond your tolerance, because you were nearly crushed twice. But..."

"how?"

"Well! I must tell you . . . muster all your courage, madam, for you are not yet at the end."

"My God!" Madame Tangera exclaimed in horror, "what else can I do?"

"What you are seeing now is the past, ma'am, the past is indeed very sad and gloomy, huh! But you have to think that there will be an even more sad and gloomy future, a... a future that will be very terrifying... Maybe it's still bloody..."

The baroness knew that Villefort was calm, but seeing Villefort so anxious now, she couldn't help feeling astonished. She opened her mouth as if to cry out, but swallowed it as soon as the cry reached her mouth.

"How has this dreadful past been brought up again?" cried Villefort, "how it, buried in the depths of the grave, and sleeping in our hearts, has risen like a ghost, and made our cheeks turn pale with terror, A blush on your forehead?"

"Hey!" said Elmina, "it must be a coincidence!"

"By chance?" said Villefort, "no, no, madame, not by chance."

"Of course it was a coincidence. It was fate, indeed, but wasn't it a coincidence that this happened? Didn't the Count of Monte Cristo just happen to buy this house? Didn't it just happen to have him order his servants to dig the ground?" Didn't it happen, too, that the poor boy was dug up under that bush? My poor innocent boy, I couldn't even give him a kiss, I gave him only tears. Ah, My heart went to the count when he spoke of finding the wreck of my treasure under the flowers."

"Oh, no, madame. It is this horror that I am going to tell you," said Villefort, his voice suddenly lowered. "No, no bones were found under the flowers. No, neither were there in the field." Dig up some child. No, don't cry, don't moan, we can only tremble!"

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Tangla said, trembling.

"I mean, when Monsieur Monte Cristo dug a hole under that tree, it was impossible to find either the child's bones, or the iron sheets on the wooden box, because there were neither bones nor iron sheets under the bushes. "

"There are no bones and no pieces of iron!" Mrs. Tanglar continued, her eyes widened in horror, she stared at the prosecutor closely, and the fear in her heart was clearly visible. "No bones and no pieces of iron!" she repeated, as if the thought was about to escape, and she had to stifle it with the words and the voice.

"No!" said Villefort, clasping his bowed head in his hands, "no, not at all..."

"So you didn't bury the poor child there, sir? Why did you deceive me? And for what purpose? Oh, you're talking!"

"It is there, but listen to me, listen to me, madam, you will feel sorry for me after listening to me. This painful burden, I have been carrying it alone for 20 years, and I have not shirked it on you. Now I come Let me tell you."

"My God, you've frightened me! But I don't care about that, just tell me, and I'll listen."

"Do you know how this miserable night came about? You lay dying on your bed in that red-draped room, and I, waiting almost as much as you, waited for you to give birth. The child was born, and He was brought to me but he didn't move or cry or breathe and we all thought he was dead."

Mrs. Tangla raised her body abruptly, as if she was about to jump up from her chair.Villefort took her hands and pressed her down, as if begging her to listen.

"We all thought he was dead," went on Villefort, "so I took a box for a coffin, put the child in it, went down to the garden, dug a hole, and hastily buried the box. I had just buried the soil when the Corsican raised his arms towards me. I saw a black shadow and a flash of lightning flashing in front of me. I felt a pain and wanted to cry, but my whole body was cold and shivering. I trembled, and my throat was tightly choked... I collapsed on the ground, only feeling that I had been killed. I will never forget your noble courage when I dragged my dying body to the foot of the stairs , although you yourself were so weak that you almost died, you came to fetch me. This terrible disaster was kept silent, so you had to be supported by your wet nurse, and you had to go back to your own house with your own courage. I found an excuse for being injured, saying that I was injured in a duel. I never expected that this secret was kept, and only the two of us knew it. I was sent to Versailles and fought against death for three full months. In the end, my life It seemed that I was finally saved. The doctor suggested that I go to the south to bask in the sun and breathe fresh air. Four people carried me from Paris to Chalons, only walking 50 miles a day. Mrs. Villefort took a carriage and walked with the stretcher. Dragon, I will take a boat first along the Saone River, then down the Rhone River, and slowly along the river to Arles. When I arrive in Arles, I will go on in a sedan chair and carry me all the way to Marseilles. I raised six It took me a month to recover, and I have not heard from you, and I dare not ask how you are. When I returned to Paris, I found out that Mr. Nargona had passed away, and you were married to Mr. Tangra.

"When I woke up, what was my heart thinking about? I was always thinking about one thing, and I was always thinking about this child's body. Every night in my dream, I saw him flying up from the ground, wandering above the grave, viciously looked at me, and pointed at me. So as soon as I got back to Paris, I asked what was going on. The house had been unoccupied since we left, but it had just been rented out for nine years. I immediately I went to the tenant and pretended that I didn't want the house to fall into the hands of outsiders, saying that it was my parents-in-law's house, and I could pay compensation and ask the tenant to terminate the lease. They asked me for 6000 francs , even if it is 10000, even if it is 20000, I will not hesitate. The money is on my body, so I asked the tenant to sign the lease cancellation form on the spot. I am eagerly looking forward to the lease cancellation. After the completion of the lease, I will go to the Auteuil, so that no one has entered the house since I left.

"It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and I went upstairs to the room with the red curtains, and waited until it was dark. While I waited in that room, all the things that have been haunting me for a year when I was dying The thing came to my mind again, and it made me even more uneasy.

(End of this chapter)