A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Qin Yan's morning magazine captured a portion of the market in just half a month, and sales were quite good.

Du Zhuojun's Nancheng Daily already had mediocre sales, and after being squeezed out by Baihua Morning Post, its sales dropped further, making it inferior to Qin Yan's Morning Post.

To make matters worse, Qi Sheng, Du Zhuojun's most incisive and eloquent writer, has been "on hiatus" during this period.

He said he had a cold and fever and couldn't get out of bed. Du Zhuojun sent someone to check on him, but he avoided seeing them, so Du Zhuojun suspected that he was faking illness.

When he was needed most, he proved useless, which infuriated Du Zhuojun even more.

"I don't know what she's up to behind the scenes, but she actually did it," Mrs. Du said in surprise.

That woman is a bit strange.

She added, "She's always stealing other people's things, just like her mother."

Du Zhuojun then remembered that Qin Yan was Lan Changming's illegitimate daughter.

Du Rongfei instructed Du Zhuojun to make good use of this secret and deliver a fatal blow to Qin Yan at a crucial moment.

Now, the opportunity has arrived.

Qin Yan and her vernacular newspaper are currently in the spotlight. At this time, with everyone in the spotlight, her scandals are even more likely to cause ripples.

Du Zhuojun began preparations.

She needed to create a better opportunity. The Lunar New Year was approaching, and nothing was more fitting than the year-end celebrations.

Du Zhuojun did not consult with anyone to avoid any accidents.

The first battle of the Plain Language Morning News was a success, and the happiest person was not Qin Yan, but Ling Manyun.

The two of them have been too busy lately, working day and night on these matters; Ling Manyun put too much pressure on the chief writers, so Qin Yan was behind them, giving out stipends to comfort them.

With a balance of tightness and looseness, the newspaper operated effectively.

Qin Yan said, "I really can't do without you."

Ling Manyun: "You're the best at being sentimental. Every time I criticize you, you still get upset."

"I'm telling the truth."

"Only genuine feelings can move people," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan: "..."

After the Lantern Festival, people settled down to prepare for the New Year, and newspaper sales improved even more. Qin Yan and Ling Manyun, on the other hand, were even busier.

Qin Yan asked Ling Manyun how the two of them would spend the New Year this year.

"Are you spending time with me again this year?" Ling Manyun asked.

Last year, Qin Yan had just gotten married. Cheng Tianxun was too busy and spent the New Year at his post. Qin Yan wasn't familiar with the warlord and his wife, so she called the warlord's wife and said she wouldn't go to join in the fun. The warlord's wife agreed without hesitation.

The two of them spent the Lunar New Year at Ling Manyun's apartment.

Qin Yan and Ling Manyun's cooking skills were both mediocre. Since restaurants were closed for the New Year, the two of them managed to prepare a few dishes and also cooked taro soup as the first dish for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Because taro is round and plump, like a gold ingot, it is considered a very auspicious symbol.

"I'd like to invite you to my villa this year. There's a chef and maids there, so we won't have to eat bland taro anymore," Qin Yan said.

The reason Qin Yan didn't visit the villa last year was because she had just gotten married not long ago. The third floor of Cheng Tianxun's villa was a study and a conference room, which Qin Yan herself didn't go up.

If something happens, neither she nor Ling Manyun can explain themselves clearly, so it's better to avoid trouble.

This year, she felt a bit more relaxed. Cheng Tianxun had also told her that there were no confidential documents at home that couldn't be made public, and that she could invite guests over to have fun.

He locked away all the important things.

"Isn't your husband coming back?" Ling Manyun asked.

Qin Yan said yes.

"Your marriage is a mess."

The two reached an agreement.

With the support of the evening edition and Qin Yan now having more money to promote it, the sales of the Baihua Morning News have been soaring, and its momentum is getting stronger and stronger.

The new lead writers have attracted much attention.

Xiang Linzi called Qin Yan again; she still wanted to give it a try.

Qin Yan agreed and told her to study it carefully and to talk to her if she encountered any difficulties.

The newspaper office does not have a holiday during the Spring Festival. Someone needs to be on duty on New Year's Eve, and everyone has to start work on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

However, the salary is generous, and the bonuses are even greater.

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, Qin Yan and Ling Manyun had nothing to do in the afternoon. After being busy for almost a month, they could finally take a break.

The two went to the market to buy New Year's goods and flowers.

"Look, the bond companies are even busier than us," Ling Manyun pointed to Qin Yan.

Qin Yan: "Speculative business never stops."

They bought daffodils.

Qin Yan placed daffodils in her bedroom, filling the room with their fragrance.

She took a shower and lay down, still thinking before falling asleep: "Du Zhuojun's newspaper sales have been surpassed by my morning magazine, yet she doesn't continue to fight back, which is unlike her."

Just as I was about to fall asleep, the phone in the side room of the bedroom suddenly rang.

Late-night phone calls are usually bad news. No one calls at night unless it's something urgent and terrible. Just like no one would visit someone's door at night—it's extremely impolite.

Qin Yan has no family, and his only friend is Ling Manyun.

She didn't even bother to put on her shoes and answered the phone barefoot.

But it was Cheng Tianxun's voice that came through the phone.

"I've returned to the city. I'm now with the military government, and I'll go home later," he said.

Qin Yan: "..."

It took her a while to feel the cold.

My feet were cold, and my thin pajamas made me cold too.

"Aren't you spending the New Year in Suzhou?" Qin Yan asked him.

Cheng Tianxun: "I'm really bored. If you're bothered, I'll go check on the garrison in Yicheng? I'll come back after New Year's Eve."

Qin Yan said there was no need for that.

She hung up the phone and quickly crawled into bed to warm up.

"Cheng Tianxun has been very restless these past few months. Has something happened?" Qin Yan couldn't help but wonder.

The last time he went out, he said he would come back at the end of the year, but he returned in less than twenty days; this time, he also said he would come back after the New Year, but he rushed back at the end of the year.

He used to travel frequently and rarely stayed at home.

"If I talk to him, will he tell me?" Qin Yan wondered.

She was waiting for Cheng Tianxun.

I feel sleepy, and I can't concentrate on the book at hand; the more I read, the more my eyes hurt.

She was half asleep when she sensed someone coming in, and she woke up with a start.

Their gazes met Cheng Tianxun's.

"It smells so good," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan: "I bought daffodils. Is the fragrance too strong? I'll have the maid carry them downstairs."

"It doesn't rinse, and it smells quite nice," he said.

He took his pajamas to the bathroom.

Qin Yan still moved the narcissus to a side room outside the bedroom.

There was a rather large box on the table in the back room, lying horizontally and taking up the entire tabletop, almost blocking the way.

It was Cheng Tianxun who brought it back.

Qin Yan simply assumed it was a change of clothes for him.

He never brought a change of clothes with him when he returned; his adjutant would take care of it. Knowing this, Qin Yan didn't touch his things.

She went back to bed.

After Cheng Tianxun took a shower and roughly dried his hair, Qin Yan was already fully awake.

His hair was short, and he quickly dried it halfway.

"Should I get you a heater?" Qin Yan asked him. "If you go to sleep with your hair not dry, you'll get headaches when you get old."

Cheng Tianxun: "Where doesn't aches and pains occur when people get old?"

Qin Yan: "...That makes sense."

Cheng Tianxun disliked wearing a shirt in his bedroom; he felt it was restrictive and uncomfortable to sleep in.

He got into bed, poking his feet inside: "Are you just going to sleep?"

"No, I went to bed around 8 o'clock."

It's already past midnight.

Cheng Tianxun: "There's not a single warm spot in your bed."

When I pressed my hand against her feet, they were even colder.

Qin Yan said, "I got up several times."

Answering the phone, moving the daffodils out...

Cheng Tianxun hugged her.

Qin Yan warmed up afterward. Not just warm, but even hot.

When Cheng Tianxun woke up early, the suitcase he had brought back last night was still on the table in the side room of the bedroom; he had already gone downstairs for training.

Qin Yan then realized that he had many strengths, such as great resilience. He never neglected his training exercises, doing them almost every day.

She came down to eat.

After Cheng Tianxun finished his training exercise, his hair was completely soaked with sweat in the cold winter.

He was scolding the maid: "In the dead of winter, do I need to specifically tell my wife to prepare hot water bottles?"