A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

At Xiang Cenyan's housewarming party, Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun danced two dances before leaving early.

The young couple went to buy wine.

Most liquor workshops operate at night. Imported liquor, adapting to local customs, doesn't close its doors even in the middle of the night.

"Drive straight ahead, there's a big tavern over there," Qin Yan said to his adjutant.

The adjutant should be.

This tavern is really big. The huge entrance is actually two storefronts combined: the left side sells foreign liquor, and the right side sells baijiu and huangjiu; there are also singers and "flower sellers" on the street, making it very lively.

Qin Yan picked out several bottles of red wine, champagne, and whiskey; Cheng Tianxun chose baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"Madam, we have some newly opened jars of Shaoxing wine in our shop, truly aged for ten years. Would you like to try some?" the shopkeeper enthusiastically recommended.

Qin Yan: "Okay, I'll try it."

The rice wine was smooth on the palate but had a strong aftertaste. On such a winter night, it quickly warmed Qin Yan's face, and he felt his palms and soles warm up.

"Not bad," Qin Yan said, then turned to Cheng Tianxun and asked, "Twenty catties?"

Cheng Tianxun: "You like it?"

"It's delicious. I haven't had such mellow rice wine in a long time. I added rock sugar and heated it up when I got home, and it tasted even better," Qin Yan said.

"Since you prefer sweet drinks, why don't you get more red wine?" Cheng Tianxun said. "You buy yours, I don't like rice wine. No need to prepare mine."

Qin Yan bought ten jin.

She added, "Manjun likes Shaoxing wine, so I'll send her two jin (1 kg) later; she also likes champagne, so I'll send her two bottles as well."

Cheng Tianxun looked at her with a half-smile: "Mrs. Cheng, what kind of wine do you like?"

Qin Yan: "Osmanthus wine."

"You're just trying to take shortcuts," Cheng Tianxun said.

Because he had just bought twenty catties of osmanthus wine.

Qin Yan: "You handed me the answer, and then blamed me for taking it without permission. Should I pretend I don't know? Ask me again."

Cheng Tianxun: "..."

Returning home laden with their purchases, the young couple went back to drink and enjoy themselves, making it a very fulfilling night.

The next day, Qin Yan went to the newspaper office and first called Ling Manyun into his office.

"...What are your plans?" Qin Yan asked.

Ling Manyun: "He didn't come to see me. If he had, I would have talked to him. Although I left resolutely, I was also confused. Now I understand everything."

He added, "Back then, I thought a thousand silver dollars was just pocket money and not very useful. Now I know that I can survive on two silver dollars a month."

"Surviving isn't hard," Qin Yan said. "You're not going back to Guangzhou with him?"

Ling Manyun: "'Crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide' are all just bargaining chips. I didn't run away from the wedding to gain leverage or accumulate capital; I just didn't want to marry him."

"If you need help, I will do my best," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "Not for now."

In the early morning, Qin Yao arrived at the newspaper office. Ling Manyun acted as if she didn't recognize him, treating him like an ordinary visitor and leading him into Qin Yan's office.

Qin Yan asked him to sit down.

Ling Manyun served tea again.

Qin Yao's eyes behind his glasses were unfathomable. He didn't look at Ling Manyun, but simply held his teacup.

"I thought I'd have to make an appointment beforehand to see you," Qin Yao said.

Qin Yan: "A newspaper is also a business; we're not a government office. You can come anytime."

She didn't ask why she came.

Qin Yao didn't say anything either.

He met Ling Manyun, but neither of them exchanged a single word; yet he said he had come for Ling Manyun.

Qin Yan remembered that when Ling Manyun was in school, she complained that Qin Yao had a cold personality, like a hard rock.

Ling Manyun had a fiery personality, and she wasn't afraid of her fiancé's cold and taciturn nature. Until she discovered that he also had warmth, he just didn't give it to her.

Despite having made sacrifices for four or five years, and even going to Hong Kong to study alone at the behest of Qin's wife for the sake of Qin's reputation.

The Qin family wanted to "cultivate a civilized family atmosphere," and the young mistress needed to be educated to endorse the new-style policies. Ling Manyun worked hard for this.

It wasn't until she discovered that a fisherwoman, timid and gentle, who didn't need to be worldly-wise, understand government policies, or even read the new-style books that caused her heartache, could still be well protected by Qin Yao and Madam Qin, that all her efforts were meaningless.

Then forget it.

Ling Manyun doesn't care what she has sacrificed in the past.

Qin Yan never heard Ling Manyun complain that her efforts had been in vain.

She only said, "I was willing at the time. Later I wasn't."

When she's willing, she'll rush headlong into danger to dedicate her passion; when she's unwilling, she'll retreat even if there's a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire to escape.

Qin Yan admired her greatly. The fiery passion within her always warmed Qin Yan.

"You've come, is there something you need?" Qin Yan asked.

Qin Yao: "Someone asked me to deliver a letter to you."

He handed it to him.

Qin Yan took the envelope, and paused after seeing the handwriting on it.

"How did she ask you to help?" Qin Yan asked. "She's Luo Qisheng's aunt. I thought she would ask Luo Qisheng to help her."

"She also asked me to meet Luo Qisheng," Qin Yao said.

The "she" they were referring to was Qin Yao's second aunt; she was also the great-aunt of the Luo family in Gangcheng. Qin Yan had a few pills that she had given him.

"Have you met Luo Qisheng?" he asked.

Qin Yan: "I've run into them, but I didn't say hello."

"The old man doesn't agree with him going north and keeps urging him to come home," Qin Yao said. "Perhaps in a few days, the Luo family will trouble you."

He added, "The deaths of the First Madam and the Fifth Miss have nothing to do with you. The old master knows this. It was the royalists who killed them. The Luo family believes you have severed ties with the royalists, but Luo Qisheng is suspicious."

Qin Yan remained silent.

She gently stroked the envelope with her fingers, remaining silent for a long while.

Qin Yao said nothing more and silently finished his tea.

He put down his teacup: "I'm staying at the Five Nations Hotel. If you need anything, you can contact me directly by phone."

He left a note with his phone number on it.

Qin Yan took it.

Qin Yao is gone.

He came without looking to the side and walked without glancing away, his gaze not lingering on Ling Manyun.

Ling Manyun kept a somber expression and remained silent.

That day after get off work, Qin Yan escorted Ling Manyun home.

Ling Manyun: "What, you don't trust me?"

She usually takes the tram back to her apartment, and occasionally a rickshaw; the distance is not far.

"No, I'm giving you a few bottles of wine. And some genuine ten-year-old Shaoxing wine. It's in the trunk of the car; it'll be too much trouble for you to carry it back," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "I like Shaoxing wine."

Qin Yan didn't drive herself today; she asked another adjutant who usually accompanied her to be the driver, while she and Ling Manyun sat in the back seat.

The two were still discussing the supplement.

"Du Zhuojun hasn't given up on smearing us these days. Her chief writer, Qi Sheng, has made rapid progress," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan: "We need to hurry up and try to launch the magazine in early December. We should be able to capture the market within six months."

She wanted to force the Nancheng Daily to cease publication within six months.

As the two were talking, a light drizzle began to fall outside.

Ling Manyun was clearly not in high spirits and seemed somewhat dazed.

Qin Yan wasn't a talkative person. Seeing that the other person didn't respond, she didn't say anything more.

When they arrived at Ling Manyun's residence, Qin Yan helped her carry the wine.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a black car parked in the shadows under a tree by the roadside, having been waiting for some time.

Qin Yan asked, "Do you need me to come with you?"

Ling Manyun also saw the brand-new car that didn't belong on this street, and shook her head: "Thank you for the wine. You should go back now, the rain is getting heavier."

When Qin Yan returned, she did not switch driver's seats with her adjutant; she remained in the back.

It's getting a bit cold.

There was a cashmere shawl behind her, which Qin Yan wrapped around his shoulders.

On the way back, we encountered another car.