A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Cheng Tianxun held Qin Yan's hand the whole way.

Her skin was slightly cool, like a piece of cold jade, which felt very comfortable.

But fearing she might be uncomfortable, he loosened his grip for a moment, then held on tightly again.

He remembered the last time he bargained with Qin Yan, and she agreed that they could kiss in the car; but the adjutant was driving, and Qin Yan was sitting upright, and Cheng Tianxun didn't want to cause any trouble.

He needs a happy wife, not an angry one.

The train station was a bit far from their villa, and for the first time, Cheng Tianxun complained that the car was driving too slowly.

"Let me tell you something: My men helped Lanxiu arrest Ye Xianting. He organized a gambling ring and swindled a lot of money from the wife of a Transportation Bureau official. The Transportation Bureau wants to settle things with him privately, so they brought him here first and will hand him over to the Garrison Command later," Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan hadn't heard the name "Ye Xianting" in a long time. He was her adoptive father.

Very strange.

It was as if they were someone I knew in a past life.

"What a coincidence?" Qin Yan asked.

Cheng Tianxun: "A scheme within a scheme. Ye Xianting thought he had swindled a huge fortune, but he probably had Lan Xiu 'a bird in the nest' waiting to pounce. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to catch them all so easily."

He added, "When the governor and his entourage inspected Yicheng last time, Lan Xiu and his wife went to Yicheng and stayed there for quite a while."

Qin Yan nodded slightly.

She didn't say anything.

Cheng Tianxun replied, "I went to the Ye family this time. There was an old maid there who still remembers you. She's in charge of the back kitchen."

"I don't quite remember," Qin Yan said. "There weren't many servants in the house, and they were always changing."

Cheng Tianxun: "She told me which building was yours. It was very far back, in front of the servants' low houses, near the back street."

Qin Yan: "Yes, that house doesn't get any sunlight in winter, so it's always very cold. But there are lots of flowers and plants on the back wall, and wild fruits in the summer."

Cheng Tianxun pulled her into his arms tightly: "Qin Yan, let's go to the Lan family tomorrow and cause a scene. You shouldn't be living that kind of life. Ye Xianting is here too."

Qin Yan: "A lot going on tomorrow."

Cheng Tianxun wanted to kiss her, but he held back. A light kiss landed on her cheek.

The car returned to the villa.

When they got off the train, the adjutants carried Cheng Tianxun's suitcase, while two other adjutants carried a large object with a faint fragrance.

Qin Yan stopped.

Beneath the black curtain, she spotted white stamens dotting the emerald green leaves.

Cheng Tianxun stood with her on the steps and said, "The servants at the Ye family said that the gardenia tree was planted under your window. You liked it very much and always picked a big bowlful, kept it in water, and placed it on your desk."

"You...you dug the tree over?" Qin Yan asked.

The voice was very soft, like bubbles in the sunlight, light yet rich in color, not quite like her anymore.

"Your roots aren't in Yicheng, so what's the point of leaving the things you like there? I dug them up and brought them here. Where are you going to keep them?" Cheng Tianxun asked.

He spoke so casually that it seemed like the matter was commonplace.

Qin Yan said, "Keep it in the flower bed in the front yard."

Cheng Tianxun instructed Sister-in-law Zhou to find a gardener to transplant the plants.

"Take good care of it, don't let it die," Cheng Tianxun said.

Sister-in-law Zhou should be the one.

The couple went upstairs, and Qin Yan said she was going to change into her pajamas.

When she returned, Cheng Tianxun had gone to take a shower.

Qin Yan sat on the bed and waited.

Cheng Tianxun came out and tested the bed with his hand: "Won't it collapse?"

It's the same bed as last time.

Neither the bed he ordered from his adjutant nor the one Qin Yan had custom-made arrived; the bed wasn't broken, it just creaked when moved.

"What if we have to sleep on the floor?" he asked Qin Yan again.

Qin Yan: "The guest room has a bed."

He walked over, cupped Qin Yan's face in his hands, and gently kissed her lips.

The bed wasn't broken this time, but the legs were looser and it looked like it was about to collapse.

Afterwards, it was still dark outside, so the couple went to their guest room to rest; Qin Yan couldn't sleep, and so could Cheng Tianxun, so they hugged each other and talked.

"...Did you see that Liu Jinyao?" he asked Qin Yan.

Qin Yan: "I only saw him once."

He added, "Thank you for going to borrow people from my mother again. With Uncle Zheng by my side, I feel very at ease."

Cheng Tianxun nuzzled her face.

He then asked Qin Yan, "Why were you so righteous back then, willing to stand up for scholars? Your personality doesn't seem like that of someone so fiery."

He wasn't in Nancheng at that time.

Cheng Tianxun had just finished his work last autumn, and with his position in the military government secured, he had some free time at home.

He was too busy before he got the Suzhou garrison. Just like before, he didn't care about anything except his own duties.

Including his wife.

He always praised Qin Yan for being polite and sensible because she was never difficult or annoying.

A year into their marriage, he still occasionally couldn't remember her name.

Cheng Tianxun knew about her dispute with Liu Jinyao, but didn't investigate it in detail; Qin Yan thus won a great victory, and his mother mentioned it several times, so he was naturally gratified.

His wife is a capable woman, and he has good taste.

"I'm not that righteous," Qin Yan said. "I just don't want to go back to the police station's jail; I have to fight back..."

Cheng Tianxun paused.

His relaxed and comfortable expression vanished, slowly replaced by a serious one: "When Liu Jinyao was in charge of the police force, were you ever in prison?"

"It was something that happened before the wedding," Qin Yan said.

"The military has heard about the torture methods used by the Garrison Command. Since you went in, how did you get out?" Cheng Tianxun asked.

Qin Yan: "It's quite relaxing for me to be out here."

Cheng Tianxun frowned even more deeply and asked her, "Did he hit you?"

"have."

His expression changed.

He said, "I didn't know you'd been in the police station's jail, Qin Yan."

As he spoke, he was about to get up.

Qin Yan stopped him: "It's all in the past, I didn't suffer any loss."

"I need to call a meeting with my trusted confidants." He hugged her. "We need to revise our strategy for dealing with Liu Jinyao."

He added, "Qin Yan, I will make you pay for every bit of the suffering you endured at Liu Jinyao's hands."

He doesn't need to ask.

He didn't want Qin Yan to repeat it to him, lest she suffer the pain of recalling it herself.

Since she went inside, she must have experienced a lot.

Previously, a prominent young lady from the Hong family was imprisoned. She was beaten up that day and raped by Liu Jinyao's men that night. The Hong family had some old ties with the warlord and insisted on resisting, refusing to pay for her ransom. Liu Jinyao then sold the young lady to a brothel.

The warlord was very angry at the time.

The head of the Hong family was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath and ended up paralyzed; later, the Hong family's wealth gradually ended up in Liu Jinyao's pocket.

Even after receiving the money, Miss Hong died in a brothel, suffering endless torment.

Cheng Tianxun didn't know how Qin Yan escaped, but at least she had been beaten. This was Liu Jinyao's most common tactic, without exception.

Cen Yan rushed to his villa.

He asked Cheng Tianxun, "Is the expanded house almost finished being renovated?"

Cheng Tianxun did not answer.

His face turned ashen.

Cen Yan asked in confusion, "Wasn't the trip to Yicheng very successful? The goal of joint military training was achieved, and Qin Yao is about to lead his men back."

Everything is developing in the direction Cheng Tianxun hoped for.

He should be happy to be back.

"Qin Yan told me that she was taken to the police station's prison by Liu Jinyao before her marriage," Cheng Tianxun said.

The words popped out one by one, as if from gritted teeth.

Cen Yan's expression also changed.

"She must have been tortured," Cen Yan said.

"No matter what the situation, I want this man dead," Cheng Tianxun said. "Also, arrange for him to meet with the warlord in a few days; I want to have a go at him."

In front of the warlord.

To avoid the warlord privately criticizing him for disregarding the overall situation.

Cen Yan: "Okay!"