"Verna’s life is such a tragedy. We told her not to marry him back then, but she insisted. What does that Storm Xavier have besides his looks? His family’s political standing is bad, too. Verna married into that family and has been slaving away ever since, supporting them all by herself. And Storm Xavier is still messing around outside. That black-hearted bastard! Why doesn’t Old Mrs. Xavier do something about her son?"

The woman spoke up for Verna Golding. Even though she was from the Golding family, everyone felt sorry for her. If only Verna Golding were a bit prettier, or if her mother hadn’t died so young, she wouldn’t have ended up suffering in the Xavier family.

"A grown son is beyond his mother’s control. Old Mrs. Xavier hasn’t stepped out of the house in years. The villagers haven’t seen her for ages. How could she possibly manage Storm Xavier? But it’s a good thing she’s still around to keep him in check. Otherwise, that bastard would have divorced Verna long ago," Phoebe Huxley cursed.

The others sighed and added a few more things about Verna Golding’s situation. Though they sympathized, no one was going to step up for her.

A woman from the Golding family was the Golding family’s business to handle. The Thorne family couldn’t get involved.

Besides, this kind of family affair was the trickiest to manage. If you handled it well, you got no credit; if you handled it poorly, you’d be blamed. You couldn’t win. What’s more, Verna Golding herself had never gone back to her own family to complain. Maybe she didn’t even think it was a big deal.

Tang Xiaonan was lost in thought. This was another piece of salacious gossip she’d heard about Phoenix Golding. The man, Storm Xavier, had a bad family background. His wife’s name was Verna Golding, and she had married him from Millstone Peak. His mother was respectfully addressed as Old Mrs. Xavier. With all these clues put together, Storm Xavier’s identity was practically spelled out.

’He’s almost certainly Clayton Xavier’s father.’

This man didn’t appear much in the book, and each time he did, it was just a passing mention. The author only said that Clayton Xavier had a distant relationship with his father but was extremely devoted to his mother. The author never wrote down Clayton Xavier’s parents’ names, using "Clayton’s mother" and "Clayton’s father" instead. That was why Tang Xiaonan had been listening for so long without knowing who they were talking about.

’Now it’s basically confirmed. Phoenix Golding’s lover is Clayton Xavier’s father. Does Clayton Xavier know about this?’

’Probably not. Otherwise, why would he still marry Jacqueline Spann?’

’No matter how much he loved her, he shouldn’t marry her, for the simple fact that Jacqueline Spann is the daughter of Phoenix Golding—the woman who hurt his mother, right?’

There were only two possibilities—

First, Phoebe Huxley was mistaken, and Phoenix Golding’s lover wasn’t Storm Xavier.

Second, Phoenix Golding had done an excellent job keeping it secret, and no one had found out after all these years.

Tang Xiaonan leaned toward the latter. In the countryside, when it came to this kind of scandalous gossip, if a rumor started, it was true nine times out of ten. On matters like this, ordinary folks possessed the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes and were rarely wrong.

Glancing at the faded bruise on her wrist, Tang Xiaonan made a decision. She was going to catch them in the act!

’That woman, Phoenix Golding, is no good. After suffering such a huge loss this time, she’ll definitely hold a grudge and look for a chance to retaliate. I have to strike first!’

The group chatted enthusiastically, their gossip moving from Phoenix Golding’s torrid affairs to the crops in the fields, and then elevating from local livelihoods to national matters. They drank all the boiled water the Hawthorne family had to offer before reluctantly heading home to sleep.

Tang Xiaonan had been unbearably sleepy for a while and was sleeping sweetly in Felix Thorne’s arms. As everyone said their goodbyes, they finally noticed Herman Morgan. Seeing an unfamiliar man, and one in the prime of his life at that, their eyes couldn’t help but flicker.

Byron Thorne quickly explained Herman Morgan’s identity to stop them from going out and spreading baseless rumors.

On the way home, Shane Thorne couldn’t help but advise, "Third Brother, you didn’t handle this properly. You should have had that man from Wraven stay at your place. It’s not convenient for the Hawthorne family, a widow and her children, to take in a man in his prime."