A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Qin Yan went to the office, carrying the flowers that Cheng Tianxun had given her.

Ling Manyun came upstairs to deliver documents and coffee, and upon seeing them, asked, "Who sent these?"

"My husband."

"They're beautiful. But only nightclubs use these kinds of roses, and they're quite expensive. He knows a lot about roses," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan: "As long as it looks good."

"You neither give nor receive feelings," Ling Manyun said. "That's why you can simply look at the flowers."

This reminded Ling Manyun of her first encounter with Qin Yan.

When Ling Manyun first arrived in Gangcheng to study, she didn't want her family's servants to follow her, so she secretly ran out to play and was harassed by foreigners.

He was a sailor, tall and burly.

Ling Manyun was furious and had no way to escape; no one around dared to offend the foreigner, so no one helped her.

Qin Yan made a move, knocked down the two foreigners, and threw them into the sea.

She looked so fair and delicate, yet she was incredibly skilled.

"Give me a thousand silver dollars," she said to Ling Manyun.

Ling Manyun was terrified. While pulling out her checkbook, she complained, "Are you trying to extort money from me? I would be grateful to you if you weren't after the money."

She then worried, "You're not in cahoots with them, are you setting a trap for me?"

Qin Yan simply watched her quietly.

Miss Ling was not short of money and gave him a thousand silver dollars.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and from then on, she obediently let her attendants follow her.

As luck would have it, Qin Yan was in the same class as her.

Qin Yan always sat alone in the corner, never speaking to anyone, keeping to himself.

She was so beautiful and studied so hard that the professors all took good care of her. But her cold personality led to gossip.

In the third month of school, Ling Manyun walked up to her and asked, "Do you hate me?"

Qin Yan looked at her in confusion and gently shook his head: "No."

"Alright, from now on you're my friend. Go and find out about the Ling family of the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou. Starting tomorrow, you'll sit over there," Ling Manyun said.

Ling Manyun has two good friends.

Qin Yan then joined them.

For four years, Qin Yan was like a ghost around Ling Manyun; she wasn't familiar with any of them.

She lived outside of the world.

She occasionally visited the Luo family of the Hongmen, and many people said she was an illegitimate child, while others said she was a child bride. Of course, many more said she was the old man's mistress.

It's hard to explain.

Just as people in Nancheng are now speculating about her identity, back then, her classmates were also speculating about Qin Yan's background.

Qin Yan only told Ling Manyun.

Ling Manyun felt sorry for her.

Qin Yan got to know the Qin family of the Guangzhou Military Governor's Mansion through Ling Manyun's introduction. The Military Governor and his wife liked Ling Manyun very much.

They also valued Qin Yan.

After graduation, Qin Yan went north alone, without even saying goodbye to Ling Manyun.

Ling Manyun, who had run away from her arranged marriage, found her in Nancheng. When she questioned her about the reason, she said, "My studies are over, isn't it better to leave our friendship in the old school days?"

Ling Manyun was almost driven mad by her.

However, Ling Manyun could understand Qin Yan.

Qin Yan was like a tree; her closest relatives dug her up when she was still a sapling and abandoned her in the wilderness. With no one to water her, she had to rely on the natural world to nurture her and strive to make a living.

She lost her roots.

She was also afraid of investing emotionally. She feared that if she invested too much, she would re-establish herself, only to be dug up and thrown away again.

Ling Manyun didn't mind her indifference.

In Miss Ling's life, there were only a few times when she "needed help," and it was Qin Yan who appeared by her side.

"...Have you heard that Hongcheng has mobilized its troops?" Ling Manyun tidied up the documents and placed them next to Qin Yan.

Qin Yan: "I saw yesterday's evening paper."

"The terms of the peace talks are not a division of the country along the Yangtze River, but rather disarmament. If fighting breaks out in Hongcheng, it will be a case of 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey.' I wonder if they will cross the Yangtze River," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan: "Probably not. The southern government now relies on the three major warlords, and their power is sufficient to resist the north."

"The north has seized the rightful place."

"They're not that orthodox either. They don't want a democratic government; they're planning a restoration," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun was taken aback: "A democratic government that's only been around for a few years, and they're already planning a restoration?"

She then asked, "How do you know so much? Did your husband tell you?"

"No, some royalists contacted me, wanting the *Vernacular Times* to endorse the restoration. I refused. I guess they'll go after the Du family."

"The Du family has always had an ambiguous relationship with the royalists, and Du Zhuojun has taken over the Nancheng Daily at this time, and even wants to hollow out my newspaper. It's hard not to have some doubts," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "This Miss Du lacks foresight and is even trying to gain political capital. She will be infamous for eternity."

Qin Yan agreed.

After get off work, Qin Yan went to the foreign company and bought a new lighter, which he then gave to Cheng Tianxun.

Cheng Tianxun casually stuffed it into his pocket.

Two days later, Qin Yan saw a tabloid.

The tabloids took a photo: Cheng Tianxun was holding Du Zhuojun's hand, and Du Zhuojun was leaning against him.

The newspaper's description of his love-hate relationship with Du Zhuojun was made even more enchanting and moving by the addition of Qin Yan, his young mistress.

Qin Yan finished reading it and sighed, "The writing is terrible."

Her newspaper didn't want this kind of editor.

Ling Manyun said, "The reason why Du Zhuojun targets you so frequently is not only because of the competition between newspapers, but also because of men."

"Why don't you listen to me and give this man to her? Why waste time and energy on her? Our newspaper will be remembered for generations to come."

Qin Yan: "..."

She couldn't make decisions for Cheng Tianxun.

In this marriage, she didn't have much power; and she did need the military government as a backer to solve problems.

In this world, if a newspaper isn't sharp enough, it won't sell; those who dare to "speak out of turn" have no background or backing. This is the situation Qin Yan faced a year ago; she might have been killed on trumped-up charges.

Of course, that wasn't what bothered her: she didn't want Cheng Tianxun to go back and explain it to her again.

If she doesn't listen attentively, he'll accuse her of "being perfunctory"; if she does listen attentively, he'll say it's a waste of time and an affront to her ears.

Qin Yan decided that this time she would retaliate against him.

She would say, "Why is it always about your scandals? If you didn't interact with them, you naturally wouldn't get any photos."

That statement should be quite powerful and shut him up.

That evening, Cheng Tianxun indeed showed her the newspaper and they discussed the matter.

"This madwoman came to me. She said I locked up her brother and wanted to hit me. I held her hands, and that's how I got slapped like this," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan couldn't bring himself to say those words of retaliation.

Du Zhuojun's younger brother attempted to harm Qin Yan, but was dealt with by Cheng Tianxun.

It's not about their past, it's about Qin Yan.

He frowned as he spoke, taking out the lighter Qin Yan had given him and lighting a cigarette: "I personally escorted her back to the Du family and handed her over to Chief Du."

The tone shifted abruptly, "This Du Rongfei, seriously speaking, is he your uncle? And this crazy woman, is she your cousin or your younger cousin?"

Du Zhuojun's father is named Du Rongfei.

Qin Yan: "..."

She let him go, but he turned around and accused her.

Du Rongfei is Madam Lan's elder brother, and he is Lan Muhe's uncle. Qin Yan was forced to switch lives with Lan Muhe long ago.

"Young Marshal, let's be honest, this has nothing to do with me, right?" Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun: "I have no heart, so how can you argue about that?"

Qin Yan: "..."

In an attempt to shirk responsibility, they did indeed say many things that would hurt the enemy ten thousand while also harming themselves eight thousand.

The topic was uninteresting, and Qin Yan had some things to do, so she stood up first.

Cheng Tianxun sat down, slightly raising his chin to ask her, "How's the border design going this time?"

"despicable."

Cheng Tianxun: "Is my writing style inferior, or am I inferior?"

Qin Yan went upstairs and ignored him.