A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Lan Changming went downstairs alone.

He crossed the street with an umbrella, using the excuse of buying snacks, and stood under the eaves of the snack shop smoking.

The clouds of sorrow are heavier than the smoke.

Lan Changming always thought back to July a year ago. The Ghost Festival had just passed, and the southern city was still unbearably hot. He and the military governor returned from inspecting their garrison, their clothes soaked with sweat.

The young woman stood quietly and straight in the shade of the Lan family's gate, where the branches intertwined. Her temples were pressed against her cheeks because of the heat.

When she looked up, Lan Changming almost lost his mind, thinking that he had been transported back in time to the moment he first met his wife, Du Jia.

She looks a lot like Du Jia when she was young.

Upon closer inspection, they don't quite match: Du Jia is lively and cheerful, while the young woman is aloof and melancholic, as if the scorching heat couldn't penetrate her eyes.

Because of this resemblance, Lan Changming couldn't ignore it and stepped forward to ask her, "May I ask who you are? Do you know where this place is?"

"I know." The woman's voice was as cold as ice. "I came here when I was seven years old in winter. This is the Lan family."

"Who...who are you looking for?" he asked. "What's your relationship to the Du family?"

"My name is Ye Zhishu, and you should know who I am," she said.

Lan Changming was even more confused.

Who refers to their own name using the term "given a name"?

"Maybe I shouldn't have come. You all have your own lives, and I'm all grown up now. But I am indeed facing difficulties right now."

"The police department took bribes and is deliberately making things difficult for me. I'm afraid I won't come out alive next time I go in. Please at least give me some protection; I don't need my dowry," she said.

Lan Changming was completely at his wit's end.

However, he remained expressionless, showing no emotion whatsoever.

He simply asked, "The dowry?"

"Didn't we agree back then that you'd treat me like a member of the Lan family and give me a dowry in the future?" she asked. "Does that promise not stand?"

Lan Changming thought every word she said was crazy.

But she looks too much like Du Jia.

Because of their similar appearance, he couldn't simply send her away.

He said, "Miss, could you come in and sit down? It's too hot outside."

She agreed.

Lan Changming settled her in the outer study, instructed the maid to bring her some cool tea and snacks, and then went to take a shower.

He quickly tidied himself up and thought about her words several times, but he still didn't understand.

After taking a bath, most of the heat in his body subsided, and his mind became clearer. Lan Changming entered the outer study, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

Ice was placed in the outer study, making it cool and pleasant.

He was the chief of staff of the governor's office, a man of great eloquence. He did not reveal his complete ignorance of the woman.

He probed and managed to get the truth out of her.

Lan Changming was struck dumb at that moment.

Because he was so skillful, he seemed to know the whole story, but just stood by and listened indifferently to get information out of people.

He didn't speak for a long time.

His attempts to explain that he was unaware of the inside story sounded like he was making excuses and shirking responsibility.

"You, you now..."

"I don't like the name Ye Zhishu, so I changed it to Qin Yan," she said. "You're not very welcoming of me."

This is the address of my newspaper office. Please contact me after you've considered it. I won't bother you unless I'm desperate.

She left.

Lan Changming seemed to have been dead for most of the day before his body slowly warmed up. In the sweltering heat, he shivered all over.

He immediately went to ask his mother.

Similarly, Lan Changming continued to use his excellent eloquence as a staff officer, not asking directly, but pretending that he already knew everything and questioning indirectly.

The old woman grew anxious: "You want to send Mu He away? You might as well just hang me. You unfilial son!"

She started crying again, "Muhe has been so caring to me all these years. Without her, I wouldn't be alive today."

He added, "How has the Ye family treated that girl badly? The Ye family is wealthy. Every year, I send three thousand silver dollars to the Ye family for the money you give me. Muhe doesn't even spend that much in a year! I haven't wronged that girl."

Lan Changming was absolutely furious: "Mother, 'that girl' is my and Du Jia's flesh and blood, your own granddaughter! You could at least... at least tell me!"

"What if I tell you, but you insist on switching back?"

"We can afford to raise two daughters," Lan Changming said. "You told me, and I will find a way to give the Ye family enough benefits. Since the Ye family is willing to send her to you to raise, they are naturally willing to negotiate terms."

The old lady wiped away her tears: "This... I didn't think that much at the time."

It was incredibly hot during that period; the late summer heat was almost unbearable.

Lan Changming's mind was completely in turmoil; and the warlord ordered him to inspect the garrison again in September, and even to go to Sichuan.

He was pressed for time.

The old lady needed Lan Muhe; Lan Muhe and his wife were unaware of the situation; the whole family was also unclear.

His biological daughter, Qin Yan, appears cold and distant.

As the newspaper owner, she is young but shrewd and experienced in handling affairs, and Lan Changming has to be on his guard to deal with her.

Lan Changming had to consider what to do with the old lady, and what to do with Lan Muhe and Qin Yan.

He vaguely remembered telling Qin Yan, "The old lady is too old, and Muhe is too young. I'm afraid they won't be able to accept this..."

"Okay, I won't go to your house. I won't say anything, don't worry," Qin Yan said.

Lan Changming was stunned.

He said this with a hint of helplessness and frustration; but what he really meant was that he was thinking about Lan Muhe and the old lady.

That's going too far; it shouldn't have been said.

Because Qin Yan repeatedly mentioned "dowry," when the old lady swapped children with the Ye family, she promised that both children would receive dowries upon marriage, and Qin Yan only wanted that.

Lan Changming then thought of her marriage.

He lied to the warlord.

He said he was confused before and met a woman who looked a lot like Du Jia. He made a mistake. The woman died, and her illegitimate daughter came looking for him. He didn't know how to explain it to Du Jia.

The warlord, however, said, "What's there to worry about with such a trivial matter?"

"I don't know what to do with her. I think finding her a good marriage is the most suitable thing. I owe her, and I will do my best to help my future son-in-law if he needs anything," Lan Changming said.

He almost blurted out that he wanted to ask if his daughter could marry into the Cheng family.

Governor Cheng had two sons who were not married.

Actually, Lan Changming wanted to ask whether Qin Yan could marry Cheng Tianyu, the warlord's illegitimate son.

In the eyes of the warlord, Cheng Tianyu was more important than any of his sons; on the contrary, Cheng Tianxun was a troublemaker in the warlord's eyes.

The warlord gave Cheng Tianxun a difficult task, telling him to stop opposing his brothers.

Unexpectedly, the wedding went extremely smoothly.

Lan Changming thought that the warlord's wife, being from a high-ranking family and capable of handling affairs, would look down on illegitimate daughters, but he did not expect that the warlord's wife would agree to it.

Even after the wedding, Lan Changming was in a daze.

How did it work?

How did this turn out like this?

Why did his daughter with Du Jia end up hiding her true identity and becoming so disgraceful?

One lie requires a thousand lies to cover it up.

Over the course of the year, Lan Changming gradually calmed down, and he felt immense regret. Today, the situation has only gotten more out of control.

At the beginning of the year, the old lady fell seriously ill, and her mental state deteriorated further, making it even more difficult for Lan Changming to speak.

The old lady is seventy years old this year. If something happens to her in a fit of rage, Lan Changming will not be able to forgive himself.

If it had been explained from the beginning, it might not have been so complicated.

As he detached himself from his initial emotional impulses, he gradually realized that Lan Muhe had taken everything from Qin Yan, which was very unfair to Qin Yan.

Now, he can't find peace of mind when looking at his two children; he's constantly tormented.

He smoked one cigarette, then lit another, and after finishing that, he lit yet another.

His third son, Lanxiu, and his wife were observing him from the window of an empty private room on the second floor of the restaurant across the street.

"Father is feeling guilty," the third young mistress said. "He was terrified when he encountered his illegitimate daughter. More and more people know about this."

Young Master Lan Xiu sighed.

"Go and tell your mother," said the young mistress, Su Yuzhao.

Lanxiu: "I'm not going."

"You are such a filial son," the young mistress said with a smile.

"Don't make sarcastic remarks. If Mom finds out, she'll be furious!" Lanxiu sighed again. "Dad, really!"

"I didn't expect it either. What's the big deal about a high-ranking official like Father having a concubine's daughter or an illegitimate child? He lied to Mother to cover it up, which only made her more heartbroken. It's better to tell her the truth," the young mistress said.

Lanxiu didn't know what to say.

"Tell your mother as soon as possible," the young mistress added.

"I dare not," Lan Xiu said, looking at her. "You go and tell them?"

"I'm a daughter-in-law, not a daughter. If I were to speak on this, it would only complicate things more." The young mistress pinched him. "You go and speak on it!"

"Muhe, what are you doing here?"

Suddenly, they heard their second brother's voice.

Lan Xiu and his young mistress were startled and immediately came out of the private room, where they saw Lan Muhe standing not far away.

Lan Muhe smiled and said, "I've come to look for people. Father is missing, and so are Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law. Mother is waiting for you to eat; she's starving."

Turning around, he saw Lanxiu and her husband and laughed, "You two were hiding here, I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Coming right away."

Lan Jun, the second young master of the Lan family, said, "You go up first. I'll need to find you later."

"Second brother, don't run away, let's go up together."

The brother and sister left first.

The third young mistress whispered to her husband, "Did she hear that?"

"Probably not," Lanxiu said. "Besides, what's there to be afraid of? It's good that she heard it. Let her tell Grandma, and Grandma will tell Mom, or she can tell Mom herself. We won't be the bad guys."