A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Cheng Tianxun held meetings all morning.

They were talking about the defenses of Sucheng.

Cheng Tianxun and his two brothers did not want to go to Suzhou in person, but they could not give up the profits from the docks there, so they arranged for their trusted confidants to go instead.

The warlord and his division commanders were well aware of their ulterior motives: they were unwilling to leave the power center of Nancheng, yet they couldn't bear to part with the substantial profits.

This matter has been causing a great deal of controversy.

Cheng Tianxun is about to win.

However, the warlord always favored his eldest son, and Cheng Tianxun wasn't entirely confident until the very last moment.

At lunchtime, his mother called him over.

His mother usually lived in the main building in the backyard of the governor's mansion, while the governor himself rarely lived there.

"The eldest and third sons are now of one mind and want to oust you," his mother said.

Cheng Tianxun's eldest brother was born to the warlord's first wife and was the best at pleasing the warlord; his third brother was born to the warlord's second concubine, with whom the warlord and the second concubine had a love marriage.

This happened before the warlord's wife entered the house.

His mother's marriage to the warlord was a political alliance; the couple were outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, each with their own agendas.

Of the three brothers, Cheng Tianxun was the least favored by his father.

He was ruthless and domineering, and never showed any brotherly affection. When they were kids, he would grab the eldest brother's head and slam it against a rock, almost blinding him in one eye; the third brother was also almost crippled by Cheng Tianxun.

The warlord cursed him as cruel, vicious, and inhuman.

However, when it comes to military campaigns, he is far more capable than his two brothers, and his territory is stable and prosperous. The warlord needs such assistance, and his opinion of him has changed somewhat in recent years.

Unable to defeat Cheng Tianxun, the eldest and third brothers surprisingly put aside their differences and formed an alliance to unite against a common enemy.

"Two chickens tied together can fly to the sky?" Cheng Tianxun casually took out a cigarette and offered one to his mother. "Suzhou will definitely be mine."

His mother slowly took a puff of her cigarette: "Beiping has issued another decree; they still want to negotiate. Your father isn't in the mood to deal with your brothers' infighting lately, so you should hurry up and you can win."

"What are you talking about?" Cheng Tianxun sneered. "Just say you're incorporating them."

The first condition for peace talks was disarmament.

"The warlords in the south will not agree to this. We will have to fight again."

"I'd like to agree," Cheng Tianxun said. "Let's unify the North and South first, and then it won't be up to the North to decide who's in charge."

His mother's eyes gleamed in the glow of the cigarette butts: "You're like your uncle and grandfather, ambitious and farsighted. Unlike these local bullies, who only know how to focus on their own little patch of land, all of them short-sighted and foolish."

The mother and son were talking when Lieutenant Qian knocked on the door.

"Young Marshal, the Warlord requests your presence in the conference room."

Cheng Tianxun glanced at his watch: "It's not even one o'clock yet. The meeting doesn't resume until three. What do you want me to do?"

"Minister Du from the Ministry of Finance came to complain that the young mistress injured his family members and even frightened his daughter into fainting," said Lieutenant Qian.

Cheng Tianxun frowned.

The warlord's wife also frowned.

After extinguishing his cigarette, Cheng Tianxun stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."

As they stepped out of the main building, Cheng Tianxun asked Lieutenant Qian, "What exactly happened?"

Deputy Qian was the most thorough in his work; he had already found out everything that had happened at the newspaper and told Cheng Tianxun about it.

When Cheng Tianxun arrived at the small lounge next to the conference room, not only was Chief of Staff Du from the Ministry of Finance there, but Chief of Staff Lan was also there.

The Du and Lan families are related by marriage; Chief of the General Staff Lan's wife is Du Zhuojun's aunt.

The warlord sat in the main seat.

Cheng Tianxun entered and went straight to sit down next to the military governor.

He crossed his legs: "Chief Du, how do you intend to apologize?"

The Minister of Finance is not under the jurisdiction of the military government; he belongs to the cabinet. Currently, the military and government in Nancheng are separated.

The Du family is extremely wealthy, and currently all the officials in the city hall are Du's confidants, and the cabinet is almost being sidelined by him.

"Young Marshal, your young mistress injured my servant; a bullet shattered my daughter's ear, and the doctor said it might damage her eardrum, leaving her disabled." Chief of Staff Du was already very angry, but seeing Cheng Tianxun's attitude, he became even angrier.

"My young mistress, she stormed into the Du family and started a fight?" Cheng Tianxun asked.

Chief of Staff Du: "This..."

"Did you still manage to break into Miss Du's newspaper office?" Cheng Tianxun asked again.

Chief of Staff Du looked at the Commander-in-Chief: "Commander-in-Chief?"

Governor Cheng cleared his throat: "Tianxun, it's nothing serious, don't take it so seriously. Apologize, offer some money, and Chief of Staff Du won't be unreasonable."

"He's reasonable," Cheng Tianxun stood up. "Then I'll be reasonable too."

He was tall, and after taking off his military uniform, he rolled up his white shirt, revealing his bulging forearms.

He walked a few steps up to Chief Du and punched him in the face.

The warlord and Lan Changming were stunned.

"Heavenly Cycle!"

Cheng Tianxun grabbed Chief Du's hair to keep him from falling, and then punched him twice in the ribs, faintly hearing the sound of bones breaking.

"You insulted my young mistress and slapped my face?" He didn't let go, slamming Chief Du's head against the corner of the coffee table.

Blood gushed from General Du's forehead.

Cheng Tianxun was still unwilling to give up and was about to ram the wall a second time when Lan Changming stopped him: "Young Marshal!"

Cheng Tianxun raised his foot and kicked him in the chest.

Until the warlord drew his gun.

"You bastard, you killed someone in my lounge?" The warlord was furious.

He couldn't help but think of things from the past.

Cheng Tianxun also used this method to beat his brothers.

Beat them to death.

He calmed down a bit in recent years, but then suddenly his illness relapsed.

The people in the Ministry of Finance were difficult to deal with, and the warlord gave them some face, but he never expected that Cheng Tianxun planned to kill someone.

He not only hit Chief of Staff Du, but also kicked his father-in-law Lan Changming.

Lan Changming was also a high-ranking official in the military government.

Cheng Tianxun released his grip, and Chief Du had already fainted, lying in a pool of blood like a dead dog.

The warlord gestured for his adjutant to come forward and investigate.

"He's still breathing, Commander," the adjutant said.

Another adjutant helped Lan Changming up from the corner.

Lan Changming was both ashamed and angry.

Cheng Tianxun's kick almost ripped his internal organs apart; he was in so much pain he couldn't speak.

"Father, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now. I won't attend the meeting this afternoon. Give me the garrison in Suzhou, and the money I give you every year will double," Cheng Tianxun said.

He went out.

When he arrived at the main gate of the governor's mansion, his mother rushed over.

"Why are you acting impulsively again?"

"I wasn't acting impulsively; I thought it through before I acted." Cheng Tianxun rubbed his wrist.

His hand hurt from hitting it.

"You said you weren't impulsive, but how come you even hit Lan Changming? He's your father-in-law."

"My wife's surname isn't Lan, you son of a bitch," Cheng Tianxun said.

What was your wife's name again?

Oh right, his name is Qin Yan. He definitely doesn't have the surname Lan.

No typo.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Cheng Tianxun called out, "Let's go, Mom."

Sitting in the car, Cheng Tianxun suddenly remembered something he had overlooked for a long time: "Do these people in Nancheng know that my wife is Lan Changming's daughter?"

They probably don't know.

He returned to the villa.