Qin Yan turned away.
Cheng Tianxun was momentarily stunned.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not in the mood tonight,” Qin Yan said.
Cheng Tianxun looked at her. “Because I couldn’t remember your name?”
“Yes.” Qin Yan nodded. “Every time you come home, I make sure the maids change your sheets and prepare a late-night snack for you. Whenever you go out, I have them wash your clothes and fold them neatly.
“Although ours wasn’t a marriage born of love, I’ve always regarded you as my husband and done my duty as your wife. Do you regard me as your wife?”
“Of course,” Cheng Tianxun replied.
They had been married for a year. Sometimes, when he attended social engagements outside, beautiful women would be presented to him. He never touched them, and he barely even spared them a second glance.
He knew he had good food waiting for him at home. There was no reason to fool around outside.
Qin Yan was his wife.
And she was a very good wife. She never caused trouble or acted spoiled. Cheng Tianxun didn’t have to spend much effort worrying about her, which was precisely why he rarely found the time to think about her.
He had been extremely busy these past two weeks. The meeting just now had left his head throbbing, and forgetting her name for a moment had been his mistake.
“…I’ll try not to forget next time,” Cheng Tianxun said. “Go to bed early.”
It was already past one in the morning.
He turned and went to the guest room.
Cheng Tianxun wasn’t the kind of man who would force someone against their wishes. As a young man in his prime, he had plenty of energy, and he had gone without intimacy for half a month. After taking care of his own needs, he went to sleep as well.
He had intended to give some thought to Qin Yan.
But his mind involuntarily drifted back to military affairs.
“The defenses around Sucheng need to be strengthened again. Royalist forces have infiltrated the Military Government. Is the Governor genuinely unaware of it, or is he deliberately turning a blind eye?”
“Grandfather should be coming back soon, shouldn’t he? Those useless people in the Nancheng Cabinet actually want to form an alliance with the Du family. And the Presidential Palace is a complete mess.”
“Eldest Brother and Third Brother are both betraying us from within, yet the Governor insists on trusting them.”
The more he thought, the more his consciousness faded, until he slowly fell asleep.
Just before drifting off, he still had the vague feeling that he had forgotten something.
The next morning, Cheng Tianxun got up early. After a hurried half-hour of drills, he took a cold shower and headed to the Military Government.
He had completely forgotten what had happened in the master bedroom the previous night.
When Qin Yan woke up, she had also put the events of the previous night out of her mind. She had to hurry to the newspaper office.
“…Call all the chief writers into the conference room. I want to hold a brief meeting,” Qin Yan instructed her secretary.
Ling Manyun acknowledged the order and went downstairs to notify them.
By the time she returned, the coffee was ready as well. She brought it over to Qin Yan.
With Ling Manyun as her capable assistant, Qin Yan was able to accomplish twice as much with half the effort.
“Calling a meeting first thing in the morning isn’t like you. Did something happen?” Ling Manyun asked.
Qin Yan took a sip of coffee. “Someone followed me when I went home last night. It was Du Zhuojun’s younger brother.”
Ling Manyun’s expression changed slightly.
“Were you hurt?”
“No. I just wanted to remind the chief writers to be more careful from now on. On the surface, Du Zhuojun is a socialite who has earned the approval of the literary and cultural circles, but behind closed doors, she’s even more vicious than the old-school warlords. I’m worried she might send someone to assassinate the chief writers.”
Ling Manyun nodded. “She’s lashing out because she lost. Once our morning edition catches up, Du Zhuojun will probably be even more furious. Your concern is justified.”
“Spread the word,” Qin Yan said. “If anything happens to any of our chief writers, make sure everyone knows it was the Nancheng Daily behind it. I’d like to see how public opinion tears her apart then.”
Ling Manyun understood immediately.
After finishing her coffee, Qin Yan went downstairs.
She told the chief writers everything she had discussed with Ling Manyun.
The writers knew perfectly well that the sharpness of their articles put them at risk of assassination.
It was precisely because they had the wife of the Military Government’s commander-in-chief backing them that they dared to write so boldly.
“As for what happened last night, when she sent people to ‘assassinate’ me, write an article about it first. Expose the whole thing,” Qin Yan said.
The chief writers agreed.
That evening, the Vernacular Times published the article.
It practically called out Du Zhuojun and the Nancheng Daily by name, condemning them outright.
After proofreading it herself, Qin Yan personally took it to the printing press before finally returning home.
After dinner, she called her mother-in-law.
“…Has the Du family’s young master been released?” she asked.
The Governor’s wife replied, “I haven’t heard anything about it yet. I’ll send someone to ask. I’ll have my adjutant call you back later.”
Then, somewhat displeased, she added, “You shouldn’t come to me over such a trivial matter. I’m not that free.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I didn’t know who else to ask,” Qin Yan said.
The Governor’s wife hung up.
Her attitude had been cold, but half an hour later, her chief adjutant called Qin Yan back.
“Yesterday, the Young Marshal arrested a man who allegedly attempted to assassinate the Young Madam. He was locked up in the Military Government’s prison. His name is Du Chengjun, the Du family’s Ninth Young Master.
“His crimes have to be judged according to the law. Director Du sent people to intervene on his behalf, but they were turned away. However, since your car was unharmed and two of the Du family’s men died, I’m afraid this case may eventually be quietly dropped.”
Qin Yan replied, “Please thank Mother for me, and thank you as well, Chief Adjutant. I’m not insisting that he be convicted. I only wanted to confirm that the person involved was indeed from the Du family.”
She hung up.
At nine that evening, Cheng Tianxun returned home.
Qin Yan was sitting on the sofa downstairs, reading the newspaper. She seemed deep in thought, or perhaps simply lost in her own thoughts.
Cheng Tianxun gave a light cough.
When she looked up, he called her name.
“Qin Yan.”
His tone was unusually solemn.
Qin Yan stood up. “Young Marshal, you’re home. Have you eaten dinner?”
“I have,” he replied.
He pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and handed it to her.
“For you, Qin Yan.”
Qin Yan: “…”
Six white roses bloomed in full splendor, their delicate fragrance rich and lingering. They were both beautiful and fragrant.
Qin Yan was a little surprised.
“Thank you,” she said.
Cheng Tianxun went upstairs first.
Qin Yan assumed he was heading to the third floor for a meeting. She asked a maid to find her a vase, arranged the roses inside, and carried them upstairs to the master bedroom on the second floor.
She heard the sound of water running in the bathroom.
Cheng Tianxun hadn’t gone to the third floor.
Qin Yan placed the vase on the bedside table, then turned around to find her nightgown. She went to the guest room to wash up.
By the time she returned, Cheng Tianxun had already come out of the bathroom.
He was wearing nothing but pajama pants, leaving his well-defined chest bare. His tanned skin contrasted with broad shoulders, and the lines of his physique narrowed sharply toward his waist.
He was undeniably pleasing to the eye.
Qin Yan didn’t mind sharing a bed with him.
Cheng Tianxun wasn’t an unpleasant man. While satisfying himself, he also made sure Qin Yan was taken care of. Every time he returned to their room, he conscientiously washed up first without ever needing Qin Yan to remind him.
Whenever she refused his advances, he never showed the slightest trace of anger, much less pestered her.
Qin Yan was still thinking about this when he walked over, picked her up, and placed her on the bed.
She wanted to say something, but he covered her lips.
“Qin Yan. I remember.”
Qin Yan: “…”
She hadn’t been about to mention their little argument from the night before.
She had actually wanted to tell him that this bed, like the previous two, was Western-style furniture. Although she had instructed the shop to reinforce the legs specially, she wasn’t sure whether the bed could withstand Cheng Tianxun’s enthusiastic treatment.
She had been thinking of going to the guest room or somewhere else instead. Otherwise, they would be without a bed again.
But she never got the chance to say it.
Cheng Tianxun swept over her like a sudden storm.
Afterward, Qin Yan went to take a shower. When she returned, Cheng Tianxun was already gone from the room. One by one, people were heading up to the third floor, so he probably still had business to attend to.
Qin Yan wanted to ask him about Du Zhuojun’s younger brother, but she never got the chance.
She was utterly exhausted and fell asleep first.