A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Qin Yan sat in his office.

Ling Manyun brought in the documents, then closed the door: "How is it?"

Qin Yan: "He can't scare me."

Ling Manyun: "Don't be afraid of him."

He added, "You don't need to worry about me. He's not free in the city now and doesn't dare to do anything reckless. I stay home morning and night so he won't have a chance to scheme against me."

Qin Yan said, "Okay."

I did my usual errands this morning.

However, Qin Yan's office phone kept ringing. It was all very important calls answered by Ling Manyun.

During lunch, Ling Manyun asked, "The editors of half the newspapers in Nancheng called you today. What did they say?"

"Most of them warned me to be careful and asked me about the inside story," Qin Yan said.

At the time, Liu Jinyao had killed Mr. Zhang Miao, and he was quite prestigious in cultural circles; Liu Jinyao had used similar methods countless times.

After Qin Yan opened fire, she gained support from the public, and her newspaper sales skyrocketed, which emboldened other newspapers to follow suit.

Those in the same industry all know about the grudges from back then, since it hasn't been that long.

After the ice was broken, Qin Yan maintained good relationships with her colleagues. She was disciplined, generous, and honest in her dealings, and had good interpersonal skills.

News of Liu Jinyao's return spread quickly, and his colleagues, knowing that Qin Yan would be the first to suffer retaliation, unanimously called to comfort her.

"This person actually dares to come back!" Ling Manyun said. "People who incur the wrath of the masses like this never have a good ending."

"He's the same. He messed with me back then and took another wrong step; he's come back this time and taken another wrong step," Qin Yan said.

She was neither arrogant nor timid.

Ling Manyun was relieved.

After Liu Jinyao returned, Cen Yanyan sent someone to inform Qin Yan about his meeting with the cabinet and the military government.

Liu Jinyao wants to "promote peace talks" on behalf of the North. He uses the same tactics the North uses to deceive overseas Chinese and the general public, constantly talking about "democracy" and "unification" to occupy the high ground in public opinion.

But not many people in the South believe in his theories anymore.

Governor Cheng only met with Liu Jinyao once, when he questioned him about why he had arrived in Nancheng before the special envoy.

"Liu Jinyao requested to stay temporarily at the government office to carry out his duties, but both the cabinet and the military governor refused. Although he had official documents from the north, his reputation was too poor, and the cabinet had a reason to reject him." Cen Yan made a special trip to the villa to tell Qin Yan the inside story.

Qin Yan knew that the cabinet was holding Liu Jinyao back.

He should know that his primary goal upon returning this time is "peace talks".

Only if this matter succeeds will he have the resources to make a comeback and deal with Qin Yan; otherwise, he will be empty-handed and constrained at every turn.

Cen Yan told Qin Yan not to worry too much and to continue living her life as usual.

"The whole city is watching him now," Cen Yan said. "He went to your newspaper office, and we know that, and your newspaper industry probably knows that too."

"Yes, my colleagues all called to check on me," Qin Yan said.

"He also secretly met with members of the Du family. But the Du family has collapsed now, and there's no one of them with the prestige to take charge of the situation," Cen Yan said.

"He wants the one million silver dollars donated by the overseas Chinese," Qin Yan said.

Then he asked Cen Yan, "Where is this money now?"

"The most likely location is Rongjia Bank. However, this bank is jointly owned by the Du siblings. Du Rongfei is 'missing,' so it's difficult to investigate thoroughly at the moment," Cen Yan said.

Qin Yan understood.

This is still a follow-up to the "Du Rongfei incident," nothing new.

After finishing his business, Cen Yan got up to take his leave.

Cheng Tianxun wasn't home, so he wouldn't stay for dinner; of course, Qin Yan didn't stand on ceremony and invited him to stay either.

"Big brother, Tianxun will be back soon. Can I borrow your private residence for a while?" Qin Yan called out to him.

"Okay," Cen Yan readily agreed.

Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "Why are you borrowing my house? Are you waiting for Tianxun to return?"

"You'll find out then," Qin Yan said. "I'll invite you."

Cen Yan was puzzled.

However, Qin Yan didn't intend to say anything. It was getting late, so he took his leave.

Sitting in the car, Cen Yan suddenly remembered why Qin Yan had asked him to borrow his private residence.

He couldn't help but chuckle, and sent people to clean the private residence again, and prepared a lot of things so that Qin Yan wouldn't have to ask him for help again.

As the weather grew warmer day by day, Qin Yan dug out her short-sleeved cheongsam and Western-style skirt, and also found Cheng Tianxun's summer clothes.

She told the maid to wash and dry it.

When Xiang Linzi finished work that day, she ran to the main entrance of the evening magazine and waited for Qin Yan to give her a bouquet of fresh gardenias.

The fragrance wafts for miles.

As Ling Manyun came downstairs, Xiang Linzi magically produced another bouquet from her handbag and gave it to her.

"It smells so good, a bit like our fragrant jasmine." Ling Manyun liked it very much.

Qin Yan: "The scent of jasmine is stronger than that of gardenia."

She added, "I really like gardenias."

In the room where she lived as a child, there was a gardenia tree planted by the back window. Whenever the gardenias bloomed, Qin Yan's mood would always improve, because the weather would warm up and summer would be coming.

Her room was no longer so cold and dark.

Her decent clothes were all on the outside; her inner layers of warm clothing were old and rough. Girls' middle school required single-layer leather shoes, and Qin Yan didn't have a single pair of comfortable cotton shoes for winter. She was also rather thin and sensitive to the cold, always longing for summer in winter.

Upon smelling the gardenia, her expression relaxed slightly.

"I was worried you wouldn't like it; it's a common flower," Xiang Linzi said with a smile. "If you like it, I'll bring you more tomorrow."

"No need to trouble yourself," Qin Yan said.

Xiang Linzi: "It's no trouble at all. The flowering period is short. Once it's over, you won't be able to get it even if you want it."

Qin Yan no longer refused her kindness.

Upon returning home, Cen Yan sent someone to deliver the keys to his private residence.

Qin Yan has been quite busy these past few days, running between two places every day after work.

Cen Yan guessed this, and since Ling Manyun and Xiang Linzi wanted to help her, she also found out; Xiang Linchuan had a keen sense of smell and subtly inquired about it from Linzi.

A few days later, Cheng Tianxun returned from Yicheng.

The day before he returned, he sent a telegram to Qin Yan.

His original intention was not to have Qin Yan wait for him, but rather that the warlord had assigned him a telegraph officer to accompany him, which he found rather unusual.

When sending a telegram to the military governor's office to report, he also sent one to Qin Yan.

He didn't regret posting it.

Qin Yan should be waiting for him at the villa today; he doesn't need to go to the newspaper office to look for her.

When he comes home, there's a warm bed and a hot meal waiting for him.

Cheng Tianxun stepped off the special train with light steps and saw a person standing on the platform with several high-ranking officials of the military government.

She was wearing a plain-colored cheongsam.

The summer cheongsam was simple, revealing her beautiful figure; she was tall and graceful, and her long, snow-white neck made her resemble a beautiful swan.

Cheng Tianxun was stunned.

"Young Marshal," Qin Yan addressed him along with the others.

Cheng Tianxun nodded respectfully to each of them.

"The document is with my adjutant. Take it to the governor for me. I have some official business this afternoon, so I won't be going to the governor's mansion. I'll report to the governor tomorrow," Cheng Tianxun said to a high-ranking official.

He spoke with a very serious expression.

The crowd naturally agreed.

Qin Yan was not a high-ranking official in the military government. She lagged behind by a few steps, but Cheng Tianxun deliberately stopped to wait for her: "Madam."

The high-ranking official beside him was very tactful and immediately gave up his seat, so Qin Yan walked to Cheng Tianxun's side.

He slowed his pace and waited for Qin Yan before they exited the train station together.

A reporter was taking photos at the entrance.

He looked at the flashing camera lens, and Qin Yan looked over as well.

They're not acquaintances.

The adjutant opened the car door for them, and the couple got into the car.

As soon as he got up there, Cheng Tianxun gripped her hand tightly: "Why did you come to pick me up?"

"You sent me a telegram," Qin Yan said.