A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

With the collapse of the Nancheng Daily, Qin Yan has won.

Victory should be celebrated, otherwise the joy of victory will be greatly diminished.

Qin Yan nodded: "Okay. I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight. You can arrange a private room at the restaurant."

Ling Manyun said yes.

Qin Yan made a phone call to his own villa.

Sister-in-law Zhou answered the phone.

"I'm treating the newspaper staff to dinner tonight, so I'll be back later," Qin Yan said. "Please let the young marshal know."

Sister-in-law Zhou agreed.

Qin Yan then gave her the address and asked her to pass it on to Cheng Tianxun. If Cheng Tianxun wanted to go, he could go too.

After hanging up the phone, Ling Manyun came in.

She handed Qin Yan a document and asked her to sign it. It was a dismissal document for a reporter, listing several reasons for his dismissal, including: damaging a camera, earning extra money, and being late or leaving early.

Qin Yan frowned: "Did this reporter offend you?"

The newspaper's cameras are regularly maintained, and any damage will be reported on the same day, so employees won't be fired for it. As for reporters earning extra money, Qin Yan and Ling Manyun both tacitly approve of it, but it's not allowed in principle. They won't openly agree to you doing it, but they won't investigate if you actually do it.

Being late or leaving early is not a big deal for reporters, whose working hours are the most unpredictable.

Ling Manyun chose these items, not even bothering to bury her head in the sand, clearly indicating that she was targeting this reporter.

So Qin Yan asked her if the reporter had offended her.

"I suspect he's an inside man. As a journalist, he couldn't possibly mistake Cheng Tianxun for Cheng Tianyu. But when he photographed Cheng Tianyu meeting with Du Zhuojun last time, he insisted it was Cheng Tianxun."

He's not only smearing Cheng Tianxun, but also trying to sow discord. I'm too lazy to investigate who he's working for; if there's any suspicion, fire him first. Don't worry, I won't shortchange him on his wages," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan signed the document immediately.

She asked what happened.

Ling Manyun then told her that the house did not belong to Du Zhuojun, but to Cheng Tianyu; the reporter then slammed the news on Cheng Tianxun's head.

"Not letting Young Marshal Cheng interrogate him is already giving him a lot of face. If he knows what's going on, he should thank me and then hurry up and run away to save his life," Ling Manyun added.

Qin Yan nodded.

The reporter received the wages Ling Manyun had paid him in advance, packed his things and left immediately, even returning to his hometown overnight.

After work, everyone at the newspaper was going to a restaurant for dinner, as the editor-in-chief was treating.

But he ran into Du Zhuojun at the door.

Du Zhuojun spotted Qin Yan, strode over, and raised her hand to hit her: "You ruined my newspaper, are you smug now? Don't think you can fool everyone just because you look like my aunt."

Ling Manyun blocked her way and pushed her away forcefully.

"Who brought down your newspaper? You're incompetent, your newspaper went bankrupt, and you're crying at the wrong grave, yet you still dare to come and shout?" Ling Manyun's voice was even louder.

He added, "You keep calling her your aunt, what is your relationship with Madam Lan? Your father was just an adopted son."

Qin Yan is indeed Madam Lan's biological daughter, a fact acknowledged by the Lan family themselves. You're driven mad with jealousy and spouting nonsense!

Her words were clear and forceful, refuting Qin Yan's claims without any ambiguity.

Du Zhuojun's eyes were red-rimmed as she glared at Qin Yan with hatred: "I won't let you get away with this!"

Qin Yan: "Who are you?"

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

Qin Yan then said, "Who do you think you are, daring to provoke me? I wouldn't stoop to fighting with a vermin."

Du Zhuojun was so angry that he was stunned and speechless for a moment.

Qin Yan then left.

The crowd that had gathered at the newspaper office to watch the spectacle dispersed in a flurry.

Du Zhuojun stood there, surrounded and pointed at by passersby, then she turned and ran away.

She didn't take a car because the family's driver had all run away, and things were in complete chaos.

The second wife of the Cheng family told her that someone had planted a spy in her newspaper, which led to her accountant running away with the money and the chief editor openly turning against her.

This person is most likely Qin Yan.

Du Zhuojun now only has the newspaper to maintain her image as a talented woman. Having lost even the newspaper, she has lost her social standing and influence. How can she possibly fight for the family fortune now?

She believed Cheng's second concubine's words without a doubt and immediately wanted to settle accounts with Qin Yan.

It was Qin Yan who ruined her father.

Now she's been harmed again.

"She stole Cheng Tianxun away, she beat me, so why is she still relentlessly pursuing me?" Du Zhuojun couldn't help but wonder.

Could it be that Cheng Tianxun still has feelings for her, and Qin Yan is worried about him?

Or perhaps Qin Yan was simply consumed by jealousy and couldn't tolerate the person her husband had loved before?

Qin Yan's banquet began in a lively atmosphere. They had booked the entire restaurant, setting up eight tables in the lobby on the first floor.

She sat at the main table with Ling Manyun and others.

When Cheng Tianxun came looking for him, Qin Yan saw him at a glance.

She stood up: "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet," Cheng Tianxun replied.

"We've just started our feast, and the wine has just been opened. Please sit down and have a drink," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun asked, "Why is it so lively?"

"We're celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival early," Qin Yan said.

This was the explanation Ling Manyun came up with.

You can't exactly tell the newspaper staff that they're throwing a celebration because a competitor went bankrupt, can you? That would be too undignified.

It's almost Dragon Boat Festival.

"Then I'll have a glass of wine," Cheng Tianxun said.

He sat next to Qin Yan, while one of the chief writers moved to another table, voluntarily making room for him.

"You are all my wife's capable assistants and pillars of the newspaper. Let's have a drink together," Cheng Tianxun said.

The people at the main table clinked glasses with him.

At first, his arrival made the atmosphere slightly tense; but after a few rounds of drinks, it loosened up and gradually became lively.

At this moment, Cheng Tianxun's two adjutants entered, each carrying a food box.

Qin Yan thought he wanted to add more food, but instead he said, "It's for giving bonuses to the people at your newspaper. Holidays are a joyous occasion; if my wife is happy, I'm happy too."

Qin Yan: "..."

He was almost saying that if his wife was gloating, he would be willing to join her.

Since they wanted to have fun, they decided to spend some more money to win over people's hearts for Qin Yan, which also boosted her morale: her husband was proud of her career.

If there are any shady characters in the newspaper, you'd better think it over carefully. Either give up your evil intentions and turn to the light, or quit your job and get out of here. Don't even think about playing tricks.

Qin Yan understood him, and Ling Manyun understood him too.

Ling Manyun stood up and said to everyone, "The young marshal is giving everyone holiday gifts; it's his way of showing kindness..."

She spoke at length, using both kindness and threats, saying things that Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun couldn't say outright.

She was Qin Yan's most capable right-hand woman.

The red envelopes were handed out one by one, making it even more lively than the Lunar New Year. Everyone was beaming with joy.

On the way back, Qin Yan asked him, "Did Sister-in-law Zhou tell you I was eating here?"

"No," Cheng Tianxun said, "it's because of Du Zhuojun's informant that she went to cause you trouble."

Qin Yan: "Her newspaper went bankrupt. She lost her standing in the cultural world and was furious."

"You think too highly of her; she's just foolish. It was the second concubine who instigated her," Cheng Tianxun said.

He added, "The Second Concubine's ghost is possessing the Governor. To remove her, the Governor's cooperation is necessary. But he refuses to cooperate."

He had a deep affection for his second wife.

Sometimes the bond between husband and wife is hard to define. Disrespect and misunderstanding may exist, but they do not necessarily affect the deep connection and close relationship between the two people.

Between the warlord and his second concubine, there was also Cheng Tianyu.

"...If we cut off Cheng Tianyu's influence, it might affect the warlord," Cheng Tianxun added.

Qin Yan: "There will be an opportunity."

Her words were very firm.

The second concubine's attempt to use Du Zhuojun to do evil, making her an accomplice, is highly likely to backfire.

Du Zhuojun is competitive, impulsive, and stubborn; she's not very useful. A useful tool needs to be handy and obedient.

"Don't be afraid," Cheng Tianxun said, hugging her.

Qin Yan nestled in his arms: "Okay."

It was quite late when it got dark; night had just fallen after dinner, and the carriage was pitch black. Qin Yan kissed his lips in the darkness.

As they prepared to leave, Cheng Tianxun tightened his embrace around her waist and deepened the kiss.