Chapter 839: The True Lifesavers

“Little brother, what kind of pastries does our lady want today?”

He Chao happened to be at Taohua Dessert and saw the little servant from Deng Mansion arriving, so he quickly went to greet him.

The servant smiled and said, “A box of egg tarts, and two boxes of peach crisps.”

He Chao ordered the clerk to pack the pastries for the servant.

Carrying the pastries, the servant didn’t rush to leave. He smiled at He Chao and said, “Manager He, in two months, it will be spring again. Every year, my lady hosts a flower viewing party. She wants to order a batch of pastries in advance from Taohua Dessert, with various floral designs.”

He Chao knew the implication and replied, “Our boss gave me a jar of excellent tea. Why don’t you come upstairs with me? We can have tea while deciding on the pastry designs.”

The servant followed He Chao upstairs.

“I want to ask Manager He about someone. Do you know Fan Tong, Fan Xiucai? What kind of person is he?”

He Chao frowned, wondering about Fan Tong’s social standing and why he was worth the inquiry from Deng Mansion’s trusted servant.

He knew Fan Tong had divorced Gu Honglian, but he wasn’t clear on the details. He only knew that Fan Tong had saved someone on the night of January 15th and subsequently attached himself to a noble, committing the disgraceful act of abandoning his original wife.

Could this noble be Chief Historian Deng?

He Chao became alert.

If so, Fan Tong might use Deng Chief Historian to target their boss and attack Taohua Dessert and Jufu Supermarket.

Even if it meant protecting his own career, he wouldn’t let Fan Tong succeed.

“Fan Xiucai…”

He Chao skillfully described Fan Tong as an ungrateful scoundrel who always forgets loyalty and abandons connections.

“So that’s the kind of person he is,” the servant remarked.

As the servant was leaving, he encountered a clerk carrying steaming buns.

The buns were hot and exuded a tempting aroma.

The servant, having heard the story of Fan Tong saving Chief Historian Deng, recalled Fan Tong deceiving him by claiming the bun stuffing was pickled vegetables, causing the servant to pay attention to the buns in the clerk’s hands.

The clerk thought the servant was eyeing his buns.

“Would you like some?” the clerk considered, as Deng Mansion’s servant brought considerable business to Taohua Dessert, and offered him two buns.

The servant asked, “Where did you get these buns?”

He Chao pointed near Taohua Dessert and said, “They’re Xu Po’s buns. Xu Po lives outside the city and comes to sell buns every day. She used to have no fixed stall and was often chased away. Our boss felt sympathetic to her as a widow and allowed her to set up a permanent stall beside our shop.”

The servant saw a clean elderly lady finishing selling her buns and packing up her stall.

“You bought so many buns.” He Chao joked with the clerk, “Has Xu Po’s absence made you crave her buns like you’re possessed?”

The clerk replied to He Chao, “Manager, don’t mention it. On the night of January 15th, Xu Po and her grandson were selling buns and enjoying the lantern festival in the city. When chaos broke out, they fled for their lives. In an alley, they encountered a man fainted in the snow, and her grandson gave his jacket to him, falling ill afterward. Xu Po has been taking care of her grandson at home, and today she returned to sell buns while coming to the city to get medicine for him. After we learned about this, we all bought her buns to let her return early and get medicine for her grandson.”

The speaker didn’t intend to reveal anything, but the listener understood.

The servant’s mind snapped open.

Was it possible that the person who saved Chief Historian Deng was Xu Po, the bun seller, and her grandson?

Fan Tong falsely claimed the credit of saving Deng’s life.

Before leaving, the servant took two buns from the clerk, intending to give them to Chief Historian Deng when he returned.

Chief Historian Deng was always cautious. He hadn’t eaten the buns placed in front of him but had taken them home.

The servant followed Xu Po at a distance to the herbal medicine shop.

For several consecutive days, Chief Historian Deng investigated Xu Po’s family history without finding any connections with other people; they were just ordinary grandparents running a small business.

Because they prevented him from freezing to death, they saved him.

Once Chief Historian Deng confirmed Xu Po and her grandson were his saviors, he sent someone to their village. Xu Po immediately recognized her grandson’s jacket.

It was a new jacket he wore for the lantern festival on January 15th.

Fan Tong’s false claim of the life-saving deed was utterly exposed.

Of course, Fan Tong himself was unaware of this revelation and was still dreaming of climbing up to Prince Ning.

He spent several nights drafting and refining two essays on the National Governance Strategy, becoming increasingly satisfied with them, and planned to ask Chief Historian Deng to pass them to Prince Ning.

Before confirming whether Fan Tong was actually a savior, Fan Tong lived comfortably in Deng Mansion, receiving clothes and silver.

With silver in hand, he couldn’t resist visiting Shengjing’s most famous brothel, where he indulged for five consecutive nights, losing sense of the outside world.

He felt more justified in framing Gu Honglian, forcing her to divorce, believing it was the right decision.

Fan Tong reflected that these days were the good days, planning to later take on a famous courtesan as a mistress.

Every day filled with romance, wouldn’t that be beautiful?

As Gu Honglian and Tong Pandi left the pig farm, passing East Street, they happened to encounter Fan Tong, who had just exited the brothel, his legs weak.

Fan Tong naturally spotted Gu Honglian.

Gu Honglian coolly walked past Fan Tong, feeling less familiar towards him than even the pigs in the pigsty.

Having divorced, they were supposed to move on separately. Gu Honglian managed to treat Fan Tong as a stranger, but Fan Tong refused to behave decently.

Now, reveling in this leisurely life, Fan Tong not only enjoyed himself but insisted on letting Gu Honglian and the Gu Family know.

“Honglian,” Fan Tong stopped Gu Honglian and said, “Do you regret divorcing me?”

Gu Honglian was utterly puzzled, unable to comprehend Fan Tong’s logic. Divorce was forced by Fan Tong, not initiated by her, so why would he ask if she regretted it?

Even if he insisted on asking, Gu Honglian didn’t regret it at all.

Gu Honglian replied, “Regret? Regret not divorcing earlier. A good dog doesn’t block the way. Move aside.”

Fan Tong pointed to the brothel behind him and said, “The taste of brothel girls is far better than yours. You’re just a wild girl from the countryside, without any charm.”

Gu Honglian remained completely unfazed.

After raising pigs for over ten days, she was exhausted and only wanted to go home for a hot bath.

“Charm? What’s charm? Can it be traded for silver?” Gu Honglian asked.

Fan Tong was stupefied.

Despite humiliating Gu Honglian like this, she didn’t even get angry.

He thought it might be an illusion, but seeing Gu Honglian’s utterly bewildered expression realized her strength wasn’t a facade.

She genuinely didn’t care.

While Gu Honglian wasn’t provoked, Fan Tong managed to provoke himself into fury.

Tong Pandi stood by, marveling at the scene. Fan Tong was even more shameless than Wu Musheng.

Why do divorced men have so many theatrics?

They assume once divorced, people still think of them and jump forward to aggravate others. Isn’t this asking for a beating?

Tong Pandi stepped forward and slapped Fan Tong hard on the face.

“Did you hit me?”

Fan Tong, realizing what happened, stared at Tong Pandi incredulously.

“Yes, I hit you.”

Tong Pandi slapped Fan Tong’s left cheek, and Gu Honglian, on the right, hit him again.