A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

After Du Zhuojun caused trouble, Qin Yan's newspaper gave him a pay raise, which stabilized the situation.

However, Du Zhuojun was not one to be trifled with, and the Nancheng Daily challenged Qin Yan's newspaper to a showdown.

The two editors were vastly different in ability, and Qin Yan's side won a great victory, causing the newspaper's sales to rise again, making it the second best-selling newspaper in Nancheng.

"If this continues, our 'Vernacular Times' will really become an authority." Ling Manyun was very happy.

Qin Yan: "I plan to start a morning publication to further stabilize sales."

Today, the "Baihua Times" is an evening publication.

"Okay," Ling Manyun said. "When do we start?"

"It will take some time to prepare, and it should open by the end of the year."

"We need to hire more people," Ling Manyun said.

Both she and Qin Yan are "do-it-or-die" types; if they fail, they can always start over.

Qin Yan's desire to expand the publication was not merely to stabilize sales, but also to further squeeze out the "Nancheng Daily".

The monthly salary and royalties of well-known writers are already considered astronomical, at fifty or sixty silver dollars a month. Even the monthly salary of a bank general manager is only thirty silver dollars.

With the 100,000 silver dollars given to Qin Yan by Cheng Tianxun, she could squander most of her life even if the expanded publication didn't make money.

Since we have the advantage, why not take advantage of it?

How can we allow our hard work to be stolen?

If Du Zhuojun hadn't made such a scene, Qin Yan might not have wanted to go to such extremes; now, she wants to force Du Zhuojun's "Nancheng Daily" to cease publication.

Qin Yan didn't utter a single harsh word; Ling Manyun figured it out herself.

Qin Yan is steady in his actions and ruthless in secret; he is not someone who boasts.

In the midst of our busy lives, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.

Qin Yan went to the governor's mansion in the morning to give gifts to her parents-in-law.

"Commander-in-Chief, Mother, the young marshal isn't home for the holiday, so I won't be coming," Qin Yan said.

The warlord was indifferent.

The warlord's wife didn't care; she herself probably wouldn't even celebrate the holiday.

The warlord had four concubines and more than a dozen children, all of whom lived in the old mansion; over there was an old-style garden courtyard, covering thousands of acres. It was just a bit remote, close to the city wall.

Qin Yan's "filial piety" towards her in-laws is like burning incense at a temple; it's simply a matter of "sincerity brings results."

After praying to Buddha, Qin Yan went to the newspaper office.

The newspaper office is closed for the holiday.

She was working overtime, and so was Ling Manyun; they were the only two people working overtime in the entire newspaper office.

The two of them were discussing the expansion of the publication.

The preliminary preparations will be quite busy.

After finishing my business, it was past dusk. A full moon hung on the treetops, and the night sky was cloudless.

Qin Yan called the restaurant downstairs and ordered a banquet for herself and Ling Manyun to celebrate the holiday together.

"If you marry Qin Yao, the festival will be much more lively," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "I don't want to join in that kind of festivities. You're married now, but you don't spend holidays with me?"

He added, "I dread holidays the most. In my family, holidays always involve infighting; it's the same in Governor Qin's mansion. Luckily, I escaped."

Qin Yan: "I also dread holidays. Every year, Mrs. Ye always finds a way to bring Lan Muhe back once. At that time, I'll be locked in my room and given a bowl of egg drop soup."

Ling Manyun glanced at her in surprise: "Are you being treated this badly?"

Then it dawned on me, "No wonder you don't like egg drop soup noodles."

They even asked, "Won't the Lan family take you?"

Qin Yan: "I didn't receive it. When I got married, Madam Lan and Chief of Staff Lan went. Madam Lan sat there, just like any other guest, without any extra emotions."

Even if you don't feel guilty, you're still a little embarrassed, aren't you?

No.

Mrs. Lan remained calm; Chief of Staff Lan, on the other hand, seemed somewhat nervous.

Qin Yan envied this mindset.

Even abandoning a cat or a dog wouldn't be this heartless, would it?

She was only three years old when she was abandoned. She just couldn't speak, so why was she so annoying?

"What a cruel heart!" Ling Manyun said angrily.

Qin Yan: "Luckily, I've grown up."

No longer powerless.

Ling Manyun changed the subject.

After dinner, Qin Yan tidied up the documents and drove Ling Manyun back to her residence; she then drove back to the villa.

A car was following us on the way.

Qin Yan checked the rearview mirror twice to confirm, then sped up. He held the steering wheel steady with one hand and pulled out a small pistol with the other.

With the bullet chambered, Qin Yan continued to slam on the gas pedal.

The cars behind drove even faster, keeping up closely.

Qin Yan knew this road very well. She was deciding which way to turn and looking for an opportunity to fire her gun when the car behind her suddenly sped up.

The entire vehicle crashed into a large tree on the roadside.

Qin Yan slowed down the accelerator and noticed another car behind him.

The car was completely black and had no license plates.

She recognized it; it was the car Cheng Tianxun often rode in.

She slowly reversed the car; many pedestrians on the street had already been frightened away.

Qin Yan spotted Cheng Tianxun.

He was wearing a slightly dirty military uniform and fired a few shots swiftly at the driver's and passenger's seats of the car in front of him.

The gunshots scared away passersby who wanted to watch.

Then he pulled a young boy out of the back seat.

He was very young, and his forehead was cut by the car window, with blood obscuring his eyes.

"Who are you?" Cheng Tianxun lifted him up.

"You...you can't kill me! My father is Du Rongfei!" The boy tried to be forceful, but he was trembling with fear.

Cheng Tianxun threw him heavily to the ground.

"Take him back to the prison and interrogate him later," he told his adjutant.

The adjutant should be.

Qin Yan walked over.

"Young Marshal, why did you return to the city?" she asked first.

Cheng Tianxun said last time that he would be away for a month or two.

This has been less than half a month.

"I finished my business, and Suzhou is close by, so I came back," Cheng Tianxun said.

Then he asked, "Are you injured?"

"No," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun: "Let's go back."

Qin Yan said, "Okay."

Back at the villa, Cheng Tianxun, as usual, had to hold a meeting first.

His trusted confidants arrived one after another.

Qin Yan instructed the maid to change the bed sheets and blankets, and also prepared his pajamas; the small kitchen cooked his favorite late-night snack.

She took a shower first, then sat under the lamp and slowly dried her hair.

"The person following me must be Du Zhuojun's younger brother," Qin Yan thought.

A very young boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old.

The Du family's affairs are never-ending.

It was nearly midnight when Cheng Tianxun finally finished his work. He returned to the master bedroom and saw Qin Yan sitting under the lamp reading a book.

She had her back to him.

Cheng Tianxun wanted to call out to her, but for a moment he couldn't remember her name.

The harder I try to think about it, the further away that name seems to drift.

He clearly remembers it.

It seems to be on the tip of my tongue, yet right before my eyes, but I can't quite grasp it, I can't hold onto it in my mind.

"...Write your name down for the adjutant later and ask him to remind me," Cheng Tianxun told her. "Sometimes I just can't remember it at all."

"My name is Qin Yan," she said.

He nodded. "I'll go wash up first."

He came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel, his hair still wet; after quickly drying himself, he leaned in and kissed Qin Yan.

Qin Yan avoided him.