A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

After Cen Yan left, Cheng Tianxun's maternal grandfather immediately returned to Nancheng.

The Cheng and Xiang families should further deepen their cooperation. Of course, the partner they are cooperating with is not Military Governor Cheng Song, but Cheng Tianxun.

Cheng Tianxun is very busy.

Qin Yan was also busy.

Ling Manyun told her, "I'm really going to miss Lin Zi. She's such a talented writer."

"Lin Zi said she's going to open a newspaper in Hong Kong too," Qin Yan said. "She'll write to me once she's settled in."

When we communicate with her, if she has any questions, I might need to send you to guide her.

Ling Manyun smiled and said, "That's good."

He added, "I really should go back to Guangzhou. I need to talk to my grandparents in person about the marriage between the Ling and Qin families."

"Aren't you afraid they'll imprison you?"

"I can leverage your influence," Ling Manyun said. "I'll use your influence. If we mention the Cheng family and the Xiang family, they'll compromise."

Qin Yan nodded: "I can ask my mother-in-law to assign a few people to accompany you."

When she first arrived in Nancheng and faced numerous setbacks, it was Ling Manyun who used the prestige of the Ling and Qin families in Guangzhou to create momentum for her.

"I really have to trouble you," Ling Manyun said.

She added, "When I talked to Aunt Luo about returning home, she always brushed it off. Qin Yan, is she planning to stay in Nancheng permanently?"

Qin Yan disagreed.

What Luo Tang might want is to be prepared to make sacrifices.

Even with the growing rift between the warlord and the second concubine, the royalists were not so easy to deal with. The assassination of Du Zhuojun showed that the royalists still wielded considerable influence.

Success is extremely risky.

Not only Luo Tang has to take risks, but Qin Yan does too.

Qin Yan's core approach to assassination is still the same: when things are good, she enjoys them; but when she's on the "battlefield," she's prepared to die, as long as she succeeds.

"I haven't seen Aunt Luo for quite some time," Qin Yan said. "You know I've been incredibly busy lately, I haven't had a chance to talk to her."

The two talked for a long time about Ling Manyun's return trip.

Both Qin Yan and Ling Manyun felt that they needed a proper title to go back with; they couldn't go back in disgrace and lose face.

When you are in a weak position, you have no bargaining power.

Therefore, Ling Manyun needed a reason why she absolutely had to go back.

Going to Hong Kong to see Lin Zi wasn't the reason. The two discussed for a while, unable to think of anything, when Ling Man-yun said, "We'll find a way when we get to the top."

They then went to work.

At noon, the office phone rang. It was Su Yuzhao, the third young mistress of the Lan family, calling.

"It's my daughter's birthday. Would you mind coming over for a meal? It's just the two of us, no outsiders," Su Yuzhao said.

Qin Yan: "Which day?"

"the day after tomorrow."

Qin Yan said she would go.

Su Yuzhao hung up the phone and told her mother-in-law that Qin Yan had agreed to attend the banquet.

Lan Zheng and his brothers all had jobs, and the young mistresses and their children were playing in Madam Lan's house.

The four of them—the mother-in-law, her daughter-in-law, and herself—sat idly.

Mrs. Lan was in a bad mood.

Ever since learning Qin Yan's identity, Madam Lan's emotions have been like a continuous downpour. Although the torrential rain has turned into a drizzle, it has never stopped.

Her heart was always heavy with emotion.

She stayed in Yicheng for half a month, visiting everyone in the Ye family's old house, members of the Ye clan, and even Mrs. Ye's married daughter and her other children.

She visited Qin Yan's school, the school supervisor, and even her former classmates with whom she had a good relationship.

She wished she could become a wandering ghost, travel through time back to Qin Yan's past, and rescue her daughter.

Upon returning, he witnessed the murders of Liu Jinyao and Du Zhuojun, and faced questions about how to dispose of Du Rongfei's family property.

Finally, after finishing her work, Lan Changming came to Madam Lan's residence the day before yesterday, wanting to invite her home; he said that the old lady was still in the hospital; and asked her how to deal with Lan Muhe, etc.

Mrs. Lan went to the hospital.

She went with Lan Changming.

The old lady hid in the Western hospital for almost a month, just as people from her second and third wives came to visit her.

—Perhaps it was arranged in advance by Lan Changming, who asked everyone to persuade Madam Lan and her sons to return.

Madam Lan, Du Jia, neither cried nor made a fuss.

She sat down and began to tell the old lady, the second and third wives, and Lan Changming about Qin Yan's past.

"She came to Nancheng when she was seven years old. It was a winter night, and the old lady wouldn't let us see her," Du Jia said.

Silence filled the ward.

The old lady wanted to argue, but after glancing at Lan Changming's expression, she didn't dare to.

When Muhe was nine years old, she was wearing a small jacket with a black fox fur lining in winter when she accidentally tripped and fell.

The whole family felt sorry for her and surrounded her to comfort her. The old lady even scolded me for not buying better warm clothes for the children when we had money, saying that although black fox fur was expensive, it was too heavy.

I went and bought more expensive silk floss to fill her little jacket, so that she could wear it lightly and warmly.

My daughter wears a patchwork jacket made from an old cotton-padded coat in winter. Forget about expensive warm clothes like black fox fur or sable fur, which Muhe wouldn't even consider; she doesn't even have a new cotton-padded coat.

Silence fell again in the ward.

Lan Changming's eyes reddened, and he couldn't speak; the old lady seemed very surprised, was the Ye family really so harsh on Qinyan?

Aren't you quite wealthy?

"Everything in Muhe's courtyard is exquisite. All her curtains are custom-made, and she has to have new clothes made every year."

My daughter lives next to the servants' quarters in the Ye family's house. The house is small and damp, cold in winter and sweltering in summer.

"Muhe has a car and the best driver for her; my daughter wants a bicycle to go to school, but since it's a novelty in Yicheng and expensive, nobody buys it for her."

"When Muhe was in school, I went to the school to pull strings, and all the teachers took care of her. When my daughter was falsely accused of theft at school, her adoptive father's second wife rushed to the school and slapped her, saying she was a disgrace."

Later, the Ye family confined her for half a month. The school supervisor, taking pity on her good grades, went to their home to plead for her release.

If she hadn't been so outstanding and obedient, she might have been imprisoned at home because of this and slowly "died."

"We cherish Muhe, while the Ye family wishes they could kill Qinyan. When Mrs. Ye was alive, she wanted Qinyan to die in a reasonable way so she could explain herself; after Mrs. Ye died, they deliberately abused Qinyan."

"If Qin Yan's life could be even half as good as Mu He's, I could turn a blind eye to the past and bring my daughter back so we could start a new life together."

But no. Qin Yan suffered a lot, none of which she should have had to endure.” Du Jia said, tears streaming down her face.

She looked at the old lady, "Do you know what the cruelest thing is?" Qin Yan remembered.

She remembers you, remembers the child swap with the Ye family. She lived in such a miserable environment, suffering not only physically but also the pain of being abandoned.

If God hadn't been kind to her, she would have died young, and I would never have seen my daughter again. You are my mother-in-law, and I have never doubted you.

I've always disliked Mu He, but I've only ever reflected on why I disliked her; I've never really considered whether she's fake. All the suffering I've endured over the years, and Qin Yan's suffering—which of it was just affectation? Which of it can be simply forgotten?