A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Du Zhuojun learned that his printing factory was besieged at nine o'clock in the morning.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Nancheng Daily did not publish a new edition.

She stood in the printing plant manager's office, listening to his report that Cheng Tianxun's personnel had evacuated half an hour earlier, and she smiled quietly.

His laughter was sinister and eerie.

"Do you think you can stop the truth from spreading by using this method to stop me?" Du Zhuojun said.

She turned and left.

The manager tried to persuade her not to oppose the young marshal, lest neither the old master nor the Du family could protect her. But she had already strode away.

Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun stayed at the club to celebrate the New Year before going back to sleep.

He leaned down to kiss her, but Qin Yan dodged, saying, "There's no time. I have to visit my mother for the New Year tomorrow morning."

Cheng Tianxun: "I'll be quick."

Qin Yan turned her back to him and said, "I believe you. But no, I'm going to sleep."

Cheng Tianxun: "..."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun were also awakened by the sound of firecrackers from their neighbors, and the smell of sulfur in the air seeped in through the cracks in the glass windows.

It was six o'clock in the morning, quite early, but we needed to have breakfast at the old house before visiting to offer New Year's greetings, so it was a bit late.

Qin Yan usually does her own makeup, but today she called a maid.

Her hair is tied up; she doesn't like to use hair accessories because they feel restrictive and affect her walking flexibility.

However, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" and visit relatives and friends respectfully. Don't let a small matter cause trouble for someone with ulterior motives, or you'll lose more than you gain.

"Which one looks better?" Qin Yan picked up a pearl comb and a hairpin inlaid with rubies and asked Cheng Tianxun.

Cheng Tianxun: "Pearl."

The pearls are of excellent quality, top-grade; the rubies are slightly inferior and not worthy of Qin Yan.

Qin Yan took his advice and put on a pearl comb and pearl earrings.

She was wearing a dark gray cashmere cloak, and Cheng Tianxun happened to have one of the same color, so he took it out and wore it too.

When the couple arrived at the old house, not everyone was seated in the living room yet.

However, everyone was dressed in red.

The warlord's wife, dressed in a plain-colored cloak, also wore a bright red cashmere scarf.

Looking at Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun's attire, the warlord asked, "Have you two come to offer New Year's greetings or to attend a funeral?"

His tone was very displeased.

The second concubine hurriedly said, "General, quickly drink some tea and vomit. It's the first day of the new year, so there are no taboos."

The statement that the military governor was slow to realize the truth is inappropriate.

Why are you talking about attending a funeral during the Lunar New Year?

Those who come to the old house for a funeral are either the deceased or their wives.

The warlord was young and vigorous, and he did not want to die; his wife was the eldest daughter of the Xiang family, with a powerful maternal family behind her, and she was the warlord's support. She also managed his diplomatic affairs, so she absolutely could not die.

He took the tea that the second concubine offered him, rinsed his mouth vigorously, and spat it into the spittoon next to him.

Because of this slip of the tongue, when it came time to receive New Year's red envelopes, the warlord arrested two people each, Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun.

The red envelopes have already been prepared, calculated according to the number of children. In previous years, they were filled with gold leaves weighing one or two ounces each, and this year is no exception.

The warlord gave Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun more, so there were two fewer than expected.

He happened to dislike his eldest and third sons, so he picked a fight with them and said a few words to them, without giving them red envelopes.

The warlord's wife said, "I've prepared New Year's gifts for you, and I'll send them to your villa later. You're very kind."

After the New Year's greetings were over, Cheng Tianxun didn't have breakfast at the old house and left with Qin Yan without stopping.

Sitting in the car, Cheng Tianxun said, "I'm enjoying a good show first thing in the morning. My dad can sing even better than the actors."

Qin Yan: "For the sake of the red envelope, watch your mouth."

Cheng Tianxun didn't take it to heart and gave her both red envelopes, saying, "Keep them to reward people."

Qin Yan took it out to look at it.

The gold leaf is very delicate and the workmanship is exquisite.

"I've only ever seen gold leaves weighing one qian (a unit of weight), this is the first time I've seen one weighing one liang (another unit of weight). It's a bit of a waste to give this away as a gift," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun: "This is specially made. If you feel bad about it, keep it for yourself to play with. Or give it to your children in the future."

Qin Yan glanced at him sideways.

Cheng Tianxun turned his face slightly to look back at her.

"I was talking about the future," he said. "I'm not pressuring you to have children, so what's the rush?"

Qin Yan sat up straight: "I'm not panicking."

I just feel that you've been acting strangely lately, your words and actions are inexplicably flustered and agitated, and your speech is incoherent.

I clearly hate having children.

"...I haven't heard anything about any movement in the north," Qin Yan said.

The topic shifted abruptly, but Cheng Tianxun didn't find it inappropriate and casually replied, "There's been no movement in the north."

"Is everything safe and sound at the base?" Qin Yan asked again.

Cheng Tianxun: "That's good."

Qin Yan couldn't help but ask directly, "Has anything been going on with you lately?"

"It's nothing."

The carriage fell silent for a moment.

Cheng Tianxun frowned: "You seem to have something you want to ask? You can ask."

"I asked. It was the question I just asked. You said it was nothing," Qin Yan said.

She reflected that perhaps she shouldn't have been curious. Even if he was restless, it wouldn't affect Qin Yan's life.

Before they got married, she promised him that she would pretend to be deaf and dumb.

She should have overlooked any unusual behavior from him and pretended nothing had happened.

"Indeed, nothing's wrong. Things have been peaceful lately," Cheng Tianxun said.

He paused for a moment. "You think I have a lot of free time?"

"Yes."

Cheng Tianxun: "..."

The two of them fell silent again.

Silence fell over the carriage once more. The adjutant driving the car gripped the steering wheel with extreme tension, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

We returned to the annex.

Qin Yan wanted to go upstairs to change first, and then come down for breakfast.

Cheng Tianxun followed her back to the master bedroom. He changed into a set of casual clothes, as if he didn't plan to go out today.

After changing their clothes, the two looked at each other in bewilderment.

Cheng Tianxun spoke up first: "I have been a bit free lately. I've been keeping an eye on the base in Suzhou for two years, and now that I've suddenly got it, I don't have any new targets for the time being."

Qin Yan: "I'm not blaming you, I'm just worried. Your stability is the key to our marriage's stability, and only then can I focus on my work."

"We meant no harm, so why did it seem like we were about to start arguing?" Cheng Tianxun asked.

Qin Yan: "How about a hug? Consider it a reconciliation."

As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Tianxun pulled her into a tight embrace, his movements incredibly swift.

Qin Yan was hit squarely in the face.

The two embraced in silence for a moment before Cheng Tianxun released his grip.

For the first time, Qin Yan smiled slightly: "We were right to eat the taro soup last night. Not only did we reconcile successfully today, but we also received double red envelopes."

"This year will be lucky."

"It looks so," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun took her hand, and the couple went downstairs to have breakfast.

After the meal, Qin Yan asked Cheng Tianxun what he was going to do that day. When she learned that he didn't want to go anywhere, she handed him a large stack of newspapers: "You kill some time, I'm going to the newspaper office. I'll be back for lunch."

"Okay," Cheng Tianxun said.

Someone is on duty at Qin Yan's newspaper office.

When she arrived, it was 10 a.m., and Ling Manyun was already at work.

She doesn't have to be on duty today either.

"I was just about to call you, but I was afraid you weren't awake yet," Ling Manyun said. "Did you know that Du Zhuojun's newspaper wasn't in the morning edition today?"

Qin Yan: "I know."

"My colleagues are all asking what happened. I sensed something was wrong early this morning and rushed to the newspaper office, where I received several phone calls," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan asked her to close the office door and explained it to her in detail.