A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

After the New Year, everyone is busy with their own things.

Cheng Tianxun was going to inspect the garrison with the military governor, and would also stay in Yicheng for a while to oversee the joint military training in the three locations.

"When have you decided to depart?" Qin Yan asked him.

Cheng Tianxun: "We'll have to wait for the governor to decide. We won't know until the very last minute before departure."

The governor's journey was kept top secret, for fear of assassination attempts along the way.

Qin Yan: "Want to go out for dinner tonight?"

Do you have a good place?

"I went to a Ningbo cuisine restaurant the day before yesterday at noon, and the food was very good. Everyone said it was delicious," Qin Yan said.

Hearing the voice, Cheng Tianxun asked, "Who are they?"

"Me, Manjun, and the seven chief writers from the two newspapers," Qin Yan said. "And Lin Zi. She's very eager to learn, so I specifically called her over."

Lin Zi brought paper and pen that day and asked many questions, writing them down one by one; she also gave feedback to the lead writers on her understanding of the article structure.

She was inexperienced, but extremely talented and hardworking. As the young lady of the Xiang family and Qin Yan's sister-in-law, the writers naturally praised her endlessly.

Xiang Linzi was very happy that day and drank several glasses of wine, which Qin Yan did not stop her from drinking.

"Okay. Let's go out for dinner tonight," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan looked at him questioningly: "Who do you think 'they' are?"

"It's just those people from your newspaper. Or the one who's innocent or not," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan pondered his words carefully.

It seems like she's a little jealous.

But that's not like him.

Cheng Tianxun detested emotions the most, calling them "being in love" or "love plague." No matter how you interpret them, they are all very negative terms.

He didn't like Qin Yan talking about feelings with him, and several times he almost explicitly warned her.

He can't very well contradict himself.

Qin Yan wasn't very experienced in this kind of thing, nor did she have much talent for it. However, she was quite perceptive, attuned to current events, the overall situation, and other people's emotions.

She knew something was wrong with Cheng Tianxun.

"You..." She looked at Cheng Tianxun, seemingly trying to find the right word, but couldn't find it for a moment, and her words fell short.

"What about me?"

"Do you hate it when I eat with innocent people or not?" she asked.

Cheng Tianxun looked back at her.

He gave a cold snort, seemingly mocking someone: "I don't dislike people who judge others by their own petty standards. Just go ahead and eat; you can call me to pay the bill when you're done."

Qin Yan: "But I hate it."

Whether it's Qin Yao or Luo Qisheng, she won't eat alone with either of them. One is someone she's not familiar with, so it doesn't matter at all; even though he's married to Manyun, he's still an outsider. The other carries too many unpleasant memories from the past, and seeing him makes Qin Yan's heart ache and she feel breathless.

I'd rather we were complete strangers.

Trains that have passed through her station should never pull into her platform again, even if she has been torn apart. She will only grow new branches from the broken ends, instead of clinging to the broken, withered branches to hold on.

To live is to keep moving forward.

"I'm not the kind of person who needs to call my husband to pay the bill after a meal. I have money," Qin Yan added.

Cheng Tianxun couldn't help but laugh.

He said to her, "I know, you're a modern person."

"Whether it's the new school or the old school, having the money ready before hosting a dinner is essential. I'm a reliable person," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun: "An unreliable person can't be my wife."

His words were somewhat of a compliment to Qin Yan.

Because they had only met twice before getting married, and neither of them knew each other, he didn't know if Qin Yan was reliable.

Qin Yan accepted his kindness: "You are also a very reliable gentleman."

"If you praise me a few more times, it'll be my treat tonight," he said.

Qin Yan: "I'm done praising you."

Cheng Tianxun: "..."

Qin Yan went to the newspaper office, and Cheng Tianxun went to a meeting at the military government.

On the way, he recalled his exchange with Qin Yan, finding it quite interesting. Even her witty remarks were taken very seriously, making them all the more amusing.

He chuckled to himself for a long time.

When he arrived at the military government's conference room, he still had a slight smile on his face.

His elder brother, Cheng Tianrui, asked, "Why is Tianxun so happy? There's no need to be so excited about going out with Dad."

"In the military government, you're called a military governor. Do you expect a military governor to teach you such basic manners? What kind of military academy did you attend?" Cheng Tianxun said.

Cheng Tianrui was speechless.

He's been having a really bad run of luck lately.

He was never assigned to training exercises or to patrol the garrison; he was practically sidelined.

He lacked Cheng Tianxun's background and connections, and his prestige in the military was also inferior. With the slightest stumble, he fell far behind.

Therefore, he was restless and wanted to find fault.

Feeling humiliated by Cheng Tianxun's few words, he slammed his fist on the table: "Cheng Tianxun..."

Cheng Tianxun then stood up.

He was tall and sturdy, and the way he stood up with a stern face was very intimidating, making Cheng Tianrui instinctively want to hide.

If they really fight, he'll be at a disadvantage.

The warlord just happened to walk in at that moment.

The meeting room was completely silent. The officers who had witnessed the brothers' bickering all held their breath, not daring to openly participate in their infighting.

"What's going on?" the warlord asked, sensing something was wrong.

Cheng Tianxun: "It's alright. My older brother called me, so I stood up to listen to his instructions."

Commander Cheng: "..."

Can you still be this well-behaved?

Are you standing up to hit someone?

Governor Cheng frowned: "Sit down!"

Cheng Tianxun sat down, glancing at Cheng Tianrui with a provocative and intimidating look.

The meeting ended early today, and there wasn't much to do in the afternoon. The warlord's wife wasn't home, so Cheng Tianxun went back.

He was thinking about having dinner with Qin Yan that evening, so he went home first to change his clothes—he always smelled of smoke when he attended meetings at the military government.

Passing by a newly opened flower shop, he asked his adjutant to stop.

She really liked the roses I gave Qin Yan last time, and she brought them to the newspaper office.

Their subsequent conflicts were resolved very easily; he didn't need to buy anything to apologize, so they forgot about it.

Cheng Tianxun had passed by the flower shop several times, intending to buy some.

He just felt it was unnecessary. His relationship with Qin Yan was fine now, and he was always sending flowers, which seemed like taking things a step further and disrupting the balance. It would be a losing proposition.

While buying flowers, I encountered several fashionable men and women; the men wore suits with vests, and the women wore bright yellow fur coats—they were clearly wealthy and powerful.

They greeted him respectfully: "Young Marshal Cheng."

Cheng Tianxun glanced at them and judged that they were not carrying guns. He simply told his adjutant to keep their distance and did not speak.

In early spring, flowers in flower shops are exceptionally expensive, and their quality is generally poor, with none being particularly fresh.

There were a few red roses, which were blooming quite nicely, and Cheng Tianxun bought them.

As he left the flower shop, the same men and women he had just met were waiting for him at the entrance.

One of the women stepped forward and said, "Young Marshal Cheng, I will be the closing act the night after tomorrow at 8 p.m. You are welcome to come. I'll save some wine for you."

Cheng Tianxun frowned even more deeply.

A spotlight flashed across the street.

The adjutant hurriedly crossed the street and took the negatives from the reporter's hands.

Cheng Tianxun compared the tabloid articles he had read with this woman's description, but still couldn't remember who she was.

His expression was cold: "Who are you? What is your purpose in speaking to me?"

He then said, "Men, take her to the police station and interrogate her."

"No, I had no ulterior motive!" The woman's sweet voice suddenly changed, and she knelt down before Cheng Tianxun without hesitation. "I just wanted to take a picture with you. I'll never do it again, please let me go!"

This street is close to the most bustling street in the south of the city.

Qin Yan was driving home from get off work when he witnessed this scene.

She pulled over and walked over.