A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Cheng Tianxun did not deliberately torment Qin Yan.

He took the picture frame up to the third floor and placed it on his desk.

His confidants came to the meeting, saw it, and each of them suppressed a laugh.

"What's so funny? Haven't you ever seen a couple who want to be a weasel and a tortoise?" Cheng Tianxun asked.

He should have kept quiet until he asked, because then everyone burst into laughter.

Qin Yan could hear the laughter even from the second floor.

She even asked specifically, "What's making you so happy?"

They are usually quite serious during meetings.

Cheng Tianxun: "That picture frame..."

Qin Yan: "I have something to do, I'll be leaving now."

Cheng Tianxun: "..."

A few days later, construction began on several houses near the villa, and they were surrounded by fences, making it impossible to see what was inside.

When Qin Yan left home, the work hadn't started yet, and when she returned from work, it was already finished, so it didn't affect her life at all.

At the end of winter, Cheng Tianxun specifically talked to her: "I'm going to Suzhou."

Qin Yan remained silent for a moment.

She looked up: "This is your official business; I shouldn't interfere."

So why did you go to Suzhou? Didn't you say everything was over and you would leave after the New Year?

Qin Yan wondered if it was appropriate to ask this question.

She's never been one to talk much.

Cheng Tianxun said, "Indeed, there is no need to go. I have two reasons for going: first, to rebuild the transportation channels. That smuggling route is very profitable and cannot be destroyed. It can be used by the military government."

Secondly, I can't always stay at home. If I wear too many layers in winter, I'll get cold when I take them off. I've become a bit too comfortable staying at home all the time.

Qin Yan: "Not because of me?"

"It's none of your business."

Cheng Tianxun thought that even if he had a different wife, he would eventually miss her because he was so happy with her in bed.

They might even get angry for no reason.

In Cheng Tianxun's view, the argument and subsequent reconciliation were completely unnecessary waste of time.

He even asked Qin Yan an outrageous question.

Looking back, he wondered what had gotten into him that led him to ask her if she liked him.

What kind of answer does he want?

If she said "I like you," he would be incredibly troubled. The current situation is unstable, and his own position is precarious; how could he possibly have the time or inclination to indulge in romantic feelings?

If she says "I don't like it," he'll get emotional and get annoyed, just like last time when he was called "savage."

After reflecting on it for a while, Cheng Tianxun realized that he had simply been living in the city for too long.

The smuggling route was uncovered, and it was necessary for him to personally return to report to the military governor and arrest Tao Heng; however, he should have returned immediately instead of trying to stay in the city until after the New Year.

His reason for dealing with the people in the old mansion was to eliminate them. But in reality, the foundation of the old mansion lay with the warlord, which could not be shaken by Tao Heng's actions.

His mother always advised him not to be impatient and to take it slowly.

He was also the type to strike while the iron was hot. This series of unusual events truly surprised him.

He's been wearing cotton-padded clothes for too long and he's no longer used to the cold.

He had to take it off to cool himself down.

He told Qin Yan the same thing.

"Plans can always change, so I won't ask about your journey home. Just be careful," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun nodded.

Qin Yan then asked, "I was so eager to make up with you that I apologized twice. Did that bother you?"

He repeatedly told her, in a joking manner, not to like him.

Often, the truth is mixed in unintentionally; these are his true feelings.

"No," Cheng Tianxun said. "My indulgence in pleasure is due to my own lack of willpower, not your problem."

Qin Yan nodded.

Cheng Tianxun then said, "Qin Yan, we are still a very suitable couple."

"Yes."

"Be careful at home. If you're preparing for the New Year, just arrange your and Miss Ling's New Year's Eve dinner. I might not be able to make it back. If I don't come back, you don't need to go to the old house for the New Year," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan said, "Okay."

He told Qin Yan that he was going out this time mainly to cool down his emotions, and Qin Yan accepted that.

As he was leaving, Cheng Tianxun hesitated, wondering whether he should take the photo frame with him.

I didn't bring it in the end.

It's so funny that it would make everyone burst into laughter wherever it's shown, which would damage his dignity as a young marshal.

After he left, Cen Yan came to the villa.

"Brother, the young marshal entrusted the construction to Lieutenant Qian. You can ask him," Qin Yan said.

"I've come to find you," Cen Yan said.

Qin Yan thought it was about Ling Manyun and Qin Yao.

She also wanted to ask who the Cheng family would send if they were to conduct joint military exercises to deter the Northern government's disarmament plan.

The eldest son-in-law, Cheng Tianrui, had just committed a crime, so he should avoid suspicion; the third son-in-law, Cheng Tianyu, was forced to resign from his military post.

But Cen Yan wasn't talking about that.

"Before Tianxun left, he instructed me to investigate the matter of the eldest young mistress, Tao, visiting the door," Cen Yan said.

Tao Jingxin avoided the people at the old house and went to Cheng Tianxun's private residence, which revealed something strange about the matter.

But we can't interrogate her.

"Who's behind this?" Qin Yan asked.

"You might be a little surprised, but it's someone from the Lan family," Cen Yan said.

Qin Yan: "Who from the Lan family?"

"Lan Muhe".

Qin Yan wasn't surprised to hear this.

Last time, Su Yuzhao, the third young mistress of the Lan family, came to the newspaper office and told Qin Yan that Madam Lan had no idea that Qin Yan existed.

Qin Yan thought back and realized that he had seen the old lady when he was a child, but he had never seen Lan Changming and Madam Lan, nor had he seen any of the other children in the Lan family.

When he first met Lan Changming, his shock was probably not because she came to his door, but because of her resemblance to his birth mother.

No matter what, Qin Yan is just an innocent child. Her unhappiness in childhood is related to everyone in the Lan family; but she herself is now unrelated to them.

Whether they knew or not was not Qin Yan's concern, and she couldn't be bothered to investigate.

"Is Lan Muhe close to the people in the old house?" Qin Yan asked.

"Cheng Tianyu originally wanted to marry Lin Zi, but that plan didn't work out, so he went through the Lan family. However, Lan Changming clearly refused, saying that you had already married Tianxun," Cen Yan said.

The Cheng brothers are at odds, and Lan Changming cannot possibly take sides.

He relied on the military governor.

If Cheng Tianxun was of one mind with the warlord, Lan Changming would naturally be a good father-in-law; but since Cheng Tianxun betrayed the warlord, Lan Changming became his enemy.

Adding Cheng Tianyu only complicates the issue and puts them in the eye of the storm.

Lan Changming was a very clever man, and he told the warlord directly; the warlord warned the second concubine and her son, telling them to shut up.

But how could they possibly stop?

Therefore, Lan Muhe often went to the Cheng family's old house to play cards and listen to operas.

She took the opportunity to sow discord between the people in the old house and Cheng Tianxun and his wife.

Even without her instigation, the old house and Cheng Tianxun were irreconcilable enemies.

"Sister-in-law, do you want me to hand the evidence over to the warlord or to Lan Changming?" Cen Yan asked.

"Let Lan Changming handle it," Qin Yan said. "The governor dismissed Tao Heng, but it was only a temporary measure. He has a lot of grievances against the young marshal and me now."

Handing this matter over to the warlord would only add fuel to the fire, making him think we are unreasonable and unforgiving, and thus sympathize more with the young marshal.

"It's better to leave it to Lan Changming. With just a little instigation, neither the warlord nor the law can convict Lan Muhe. Let Lan Changming handle it himself."

Cen Yan smiled and said, "That's what I think too."

He added, "Speaking of Lan Changming, there's something I'd like to tell my sister-in-law."