A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Qin Yan was discharged from the hospital and was to go to the newspaper office the next day.

Cheng Tianxun didn't stop her, but he made time to personally escort her.

"Do you need me to arrange a driver for you?" he asked.

Qin Yan: "I don't trust anyone to step on the accelerator."

Cheng Tianxun glanced at her sideways, his expression unreadable.

He didn't press the matter, only saying, "Take care of yourself. If you're not feeling well, go back. Doesn't the newspaper have people you've carefully cultivated? Sometimes you have to trust your subordinates."

Qin Yan said, "Okay."

Upon arriving at the office, the secretary came in and gave a brief report on the official business of the past few days.

"Can you handle it?" Ling Manyun asked.

"External injuries don't affect my ability to think," Qin Yan said.

She also had to proofread the newspaper and handle many other matters related to launching the new publication.

Despite being busy until mid-afternoon, Qin Yan remained in high spirits.

Getting things done invigorated her.

She hates being idle in the military hospital; it makes her overthink and her mind gets even more tired.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the secretary brought her a cup of warm milk: "Don't drink coffee for now, have some nourishment."

Qin Yan asked her to sit down.

"I was just flipping through the latest tabloids," Qin Yan told her.

Ling Manyun: "Is there a hidden gem?"

Qin Yan enjoys "collecting" reporters and writers, and if she finds someone outstanding, she tries to poach them. This is her usual practice, so when Du Zhuojun tried to poach her people, she reacted calmly, unlike Ling Manyun who was furious.

"no."

Qin Yan pushed the newspapers he had sorted out to Ling Manyun: "There are more than twenty tabloids in Nancheng that write about gossip, and fifteen of them write about Cheng Tianxun."

Ling Manyun's eyes showed disdain, yet she felt wronged for Qin Yan: "He's quite the spendthrift."

"Except for Du Zhuojun, almost all of them are fabricated or made up," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "You believe him?"

I believe you.

"Then I'll believe it too," Ling Manyun said indifferently. "You mean, someone has been smearing him behind his back?"

"Both Cheng Tianxun and my mother-in-law are focused on their own work and are very busy. They hardly like to read tabloids."

By the time they realized it, the momentum was already strong, and Cheng Tianxun's reputation as a "playboy" had become deeply ingrained in people's minds.

"I can understand one or two companies not being afraid of death, but for more than a dozen to be so bold as to fabricate gossip about the young marshal? There must be someone behind this who has spent a huge sum of money," Qin Yan said.

"You suspect it's an internal power struggle within the Cheng family?"

"The prime suspects are the group from the warlord's old residence: the eldest son of the warlord, Cheng Tianrui, and his wife, as well as the second concubine and her son," Qin Yan said. "The second concubine herself is a member of the former imperial family. How could she possibly be unrelated to the royalists?"

"It's so obvious, how could the warlord not know? Is he tacitly approving it?" Ling Manyun asked.

"The warlord probably doesn't want to get involved with the royalists. Geographically, it's not a good fit for him; he won't get the biggest slice of the pie."

I suspect the warlord believes the second concubine is innocent; she's just an ordinary woman confined to her quarters. Sometimes, the darkest place is right under your nose; what's most conspicuous is often the one you can't see. Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun frowned.

After a long pause, she said, "The internal strife within the Cheng family is severe. It's not just a simple matter of fighting over family assets; there's also a struggle for political power. People are dying."

He then asked, "Have you and Cheng Tianxun been experiencing frequent accidents lately? Were they caused by people from the Cheng family's old residence?"

Qin Yan nodded.

The people who live in the old houses have the easiest and most convenient time to make a move.

"Cheng Tianxun seized the base in Suzhou. The three brothers were fighting over it before we got married. It took Cheng Tianxun more than a year to succeed, which shows how lucrative it was. Some of the losers were unwilling to accept it and, in a fit of rage, resorted to murder," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun thought about it carefully and agreed with Qin Yan's analysis.

"Why don't you get a divorce and get away from this den of iniquity?" she said.

"Why do you always back down?" Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "It's not worth it. There's no benefit in getting involved with these people."

She has a strong personality. If she wants something, she wants it; if she doesn't want it, she'll give up everything without considering the consequences.

Qin Yan often admired Ling Manyun's personality; she was decisive and straightforward, never weighing options or compromising.

"I took this step and married Cheng Tianxun to save my life, not for any benefit. Now that I'm doing quite well, I can't just abandon him after I've served my purpose," Qin Yan said after a long pause.

Ling Manyun stopped trying to persuade her.

The two exchanged a few words, and when it was time to leave work, Ling Manyun asked her how she was getting home when Cheng Tianxun arrived.

He spent a day in meetings with the military government.

Upon entering, he first looked at Qin Yan and asked, "Going back?"

His gaze swept over the newspaper on the table again, which bore his name and contained extremely exaggerated and vulgar language. He raised an eyebrow. "You can't scold me at home, so you have to come to the newspaper office?"

He completely ignored Ling Manyun.

Ling Manyun quietly withdrew to avoid saying anything unpleasant that might cause trouble for Qin Yan.

This was Qin Yan's own choice.

Qin Yan noticed the office door was closed and reached out to straighten the newspaper: "No, let's talk about serious matters."

"Checking your husband's gossip is part of the job?" He helped her gather the newspapers, holding them in his hand. "What insights did you gain this time?"

His face was expressionless, but a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes.

Qin Yan: "I feel like someone has been framing you."

That sounds nice.

Cheng Tianxun: "Let's go, we'll talk about it slowly when we get back."

The couple went downstairs.

The newspaper staff were all heading off work, and when they saw Cheng Tianxun, they greeted him nervously and tremblingly.

The two got into the car.

Qin Yan briefly recounted her conversation with Ling Manyun to Cheng Tianxun.

"The hunters of deer pay no heed to the rabbits," I think you and Mom have more important things to do, and your attention won't be on trivial matters.

"Some people can't get involved in important matters, so they resort to smearing you with petty things. There are too many of these tabloids, it's abnormally high," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun leaned lazily against the car seat, and after a long while said, "What's your guess?"

"It's those people from the old house."

"We caught you off guard this time, and I'll find a chance to let you vent your anger," Cheng Tianxun said.

He added, "You guessed right, those bedbugs in the old house are only good for disgusting me, they can't accomplish anything significant."

He spoke so casually, but he was not letting his guard down. At least in terms of military power and territory, he kept his two brothers under considerable control.

He emphasizes real power.

"Reputation" was of little importance to him and the warlord's wife, and he did not concern himself with it.

"I'll give you a good show in a few days," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan said, "Okay."

Seven days later, Qin Yan's stitches could be removed, and the wound had healed quite well.

The army doctor brought her a scar-reducing medicine and instructed her to apply it morning and night. It had a faint medicinal smell, not unpleasant.

Qin Yan wrote down all the doctor's instructions.

Cheng Tianxun did not go home that day, but sent his adjutant Qian to pick up Qin Yan and take her to the old house.

The warlord is hosting a family banquet at the old mansion tonight.

Qin Yan recalled Cheng Tianxun's previous comment about "a good show" and understood.

It's neither a holiday nor a festival, so why is this a family banquet? It's clearly a trap.

Qin Yan drove herself and slowly arrived at the entrance of the Cheng family's old residence. The adjutant on guard opened the gate and let her in.

You need to drive a bit further in, through a vast garden road, before you reach the banquet hall.

She stopped her car on the main road behind the flower hall and saw Cheng Tianxun and the warlord's wife and son getting out of the car together.

"Mother, Young Marshal," she called out.

The mother and son stopped in their tracks, and Cheng Tianxun even took two steps toward her to meet her.