It was impossible for Marion to avoid delivering the property to the man who had been the real purchaser, and Michu did not seem likely to admit any such reason.

Moreover, this service done by Marion to Malin was to be, and in fact ended by being, the origin of the former's political fortune, and also that of his brother.

In 1806 Malin had him appointed chief justice of an imperial court, and after the creation of tax-collectors his brother obtained the post of receiver-general for the department of the Aube.

The State Councillor told Marion to stay in Paris, and he warned the minister of police, who gave orders that Michu should be secretly watched.

Not wishing to push the man to extremes, Malin kept him on as bailiff, under the iron rule of Grevin the notary of Arcis.
From that moment Michu became more absorbed and taciturn than ever, and obtained the reputation of a man who was capable of committing a crime.
Malin, the Councillor of State (a function which the First Consul raised to the level of a ministry), and a maker of the Code, played a great part in Paris, where he bought one of the finest mansions in the Faubuorg Saint-Germain after marrying the only daughter of a rich contractor named Sibuelle.