A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Lan Changming called Qin Yan again.

He said, "Muhe refused to apologize, but I grounded her for a month. I'll send her back to her hometown in Yicheng after the New Year. Could you have a meal with your family then?"

Qin Yan then said, "One thing at a time. Miss Lan instigated internal strife within the Cheng family. You shouldn't just apologize to me, but also to the warlord."

"Okay," Lan Changming said. "Then after the New Year, I'll set a time..."

"You gave me a dowry of 20,000 silver dollars. You kept your promise from back then. There's no need to feel guilty. There's no need for a meal," Qin Yan said.

"Listen to me, Qin Yan..."

Qin Yan hung up the phone.

She began her workday as if nothing had happened.

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Qin Yan's morning magazine opened for business, and Ling Manyun organized a grand opening ceremony, which was very lively.

Xiang Linchuan, Xiang Linzi, and Cen Yan all came to join in the fun and give gifts; Qin Yao also came.

Qin Yao was very busy today; he was leaving for Yicheng this afternoon, so he only made a brief appearance before leaving. Ling Manyun ignored him, while Qin Yan exchanged a few pleasantries with him.

The warlord's wife sent her adjutant to deliver gifts.

"Madam said she would like to invite you to dinner tonight to celebrate the expansion of your publication," the adjutant said.

Qin Yan: "Please thank you for me, Madam. I will be on time for our appointment tonight."

Because of the appointment that evening, Qin Yan hosted a banquet for his friends at noon.

"Is Lin Zi's writing really that bad?" Xiang Linchuan asked. "Even having her write about Wong Tai Sin and the Turtle Lady wouldn't work?"

Qin Yan: "You saw this too? How did you know it was us?"

"Someone else saw it in my second brother's study, so I went to look for it." Xiang Linchuan laughed heartily.

He laughed to himself for a long time.

Xiang Linzi said unhappily, "I think it's quite ingenious. You're such a blockhead."

Cen Yan said to him, "You're going to get a good beating later."

Qin Yan then said, "If my cousin has any happy news he wants to publish in the newspaper, he can ask me to do it."

Xiang Linchuan: "..."

He didn't want to be Mr. Wong Tai Sin, and he rejected Qin Yan without hesitation.

That evening, Qin Yan went to have dinner with the warlord's wife, but ran into Du Zhuojun and her mother at the restaurant entrance.

Mrs. Du saw Qin Yan and revealed a look of utter disdain and schadenfreude. She smiled and said, "Mrs. Cheng, it's a pleasure to meet you. I heard you've started a morning publication again?"

"Mrs. Du is well-informed."

"Young Madam should walk slowly. Taking such big steps can easily cause you to fall," Mrs. Du said with a smile.

Qin Yan: "Yes, I will certainly be cautious."

Du Zhuojun quietly observed her.

Her gaze, serene and persistent, fell upon Qin Yan's face.

After Mrs. Du finished speaking, Du Zhuojun said, "You must beat me, right? All your energy is spent competing with me."

Qin Yan: "Miss Du flatters yourself. We're not even competing on the same track, so how can there be a winner or loser?"

"You're stepping on me while you're still trying to justify yourself. Why pretend to be virtuous?" Du Zhuojun said.

Qin Yan then said, "Miss Du, the Nancheng Daily isn't yours, is it? You only took over it; you weren't its founder. If I want to trample on you, I'll first need to know who you are. What makes you think you can be trampled on?"

Mrs. Du looked at her in surprise.

That's incredibly malicious.

Du Zhuojun's face flushed red. Before she could say anything more, Qin Yan turned and left.

She was too lazy to deal with it and completely ignored Du Zhuojun.

Du Zhuojun was so angry that his face changed color repeatedly, becoming extremely ugly.

Mrs. Du, not wanting to add fuel to the fire, could only comfort her: "Why get angry? The more you do, the more mistakes you'll make. Just wait and see her make a fool of herself. She succeeded once by sheer luck, but does she think newspaper publishing is so easy, that she can succeed a second time?"

Du Zhuojun's expression was still not good.

"Mom, she's already won once," Du Zhuojun said.

Mrs. Du: "Your newspaper started later than hers, and it doesn't publish vulgar vernacular, so of course it's not as good as hers."

Du Zhuojun: "My newspaper is much better than hers, and it is more recognized by the academic community. It deserves the same respect."

It's just that its sales are not as good as hers.

But newspapers don't just look at sales figures.

If we only talk about sales, what's the point of those vulgar tabloids selling so well? Who respects them at all?

Qin Yan merely capitalized on the trend of some scholars in academia "promoting vernacular Chinese" to achieve a win-win situation in terms of reputation and sales.

Otherwise, Du Zhuojun could easily portray her as a tabloid sensation.

Du Zhuojun's newspaper was far inferior to Qin Yan's in terms of reputation and sales, but she did not think she was inferior.

Her so-called "win" refers to Qin Yan marrying Cheng Tianxun.

"The position of Mrs. Cheng should rightfully belong to me," Du Zhuojun said.

Her wealth, status, and appearance all surpass Qin Yan's.

But she won.

Once Du Zhuojun loses one step, he falls behind every step of the way.

"You're so stubborn. What's so great about Cheng Tianxun? He has a mountain of romantic entanglements. Being his young mistress, aren't you miserable enough?" Mrs. Du said.

"You don't understand, those are all slanders made against him by others," Du Zhuojun said. "Besides, even if they were true, who would care about such things? He doesn't have any bad habits."

The mother and daughter were still talking about Qin Yan when they slowly left the restaurant and got into their car.

Qin Yan then entered the private room.

The restaurant served Western food, and the warlord's wife chose a seat by the window to wait for Qin Yan.

"Congratulations," she said to Qin Yan. "Are you confident about this expansion?"

"The market is unpredictable, but there are always patterns to follow. I've been having good luck with money lately," Qin Yan said.

The warlord's wife clinked glasses with her and urged her to do a good job.

"In a few days, the old mansion will send you New Year's gifts, and you can receive them. Those are the warlord's things; I will also send you some New Year's gifts," said the warlord's wife.

Qin Yan said yes.

She asked, "If the young marshal doesn't return, should I go to the old house for the New Year?"

"Tianxun himself doesn't come back for the New Year every year. Since he's not here, you don't need to go," the warlord's wife said.

"Thank you, Mom."

During their casual conversation, Qin Yan mentioned that he had just encountered Du Zhuojun and her daughter.

"Have you heard about what happened between Tianxun and her back then?" the warlord's wife asked.

Qin Yan: "My cousin told me."

"Lin Chuan's mouth runs faster than a train," said the warlord's wife.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a very sumptuous dinner.

Qin Yan was feeling a bit full, so instead of driving home, he went back to the newspaper office to handle some official business.

If she hadn't encountered Du Zhuojun and her daughter today, her competitive spirit might not have been so strong.

But once the arrow is released, there's no turning back; once you're in battle, you must win.

Qin Yan went through the newspaper's articles of association again, working until after nine o'clock at night.

It was getting late, so Lieutenant Qian came to pick her up.

"Madam, the city may not be safe either. You should go home as soon as possible," said Lieutenant Qian.

Qin Yan: "Okay."

She took some documents back with her.

The morning edition of the Baihua Times sold well on its first day. Qin Yan invested heavily in GG, and its sales continued to rise on the second and third days, almost catching up with Du Zhuojun's Nancheng Daily.

The Nancheng Daily vehemently criticized the Vernacular Times, particularly attacking and belittling it.

Qin Yan immediately made a big fuss, bringing up the scholars' opinions on promoting vernacular Chinese, forcing the cultural community to endorse her.

Du Zhuojun is acting against the tide of history.