A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Ling Manyun briefly told Qin Yan what had happened.

She confronted Qin Yao for a long time last night.

"That doesn't make sense," Ling Manyun concluded.

Qin Yan: "What are your plans?"

"He doesn't have time to stay in Nancheng all the time, unless he has other political motives. I advised him to go back and discuss with the Ling family about finding someone else for the marriage alliance."

If he doesn't listen to advice and insists on his own way, and if the Ling family pressures me, I plan to seduce someone from the Xiang or Cheng family.

Qin Yan: "..."

"Who do you think is easier to hook?" she asked Qin Yan.

Qin Yan: "I have no opinion on this kind of 'desperate measures' approach."

"I think it's reliable."

"You really succeeded. If Qin Yao were to become enraged for the sake of a woman and thus wage war in both places, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?" Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun scoffed, "Him? A stone man doesn't have a heart!"

"He may lack a heart, but he can still have possessiveness and a lust for power. He can use a beautiful woman as an excuse to launch a war. If he succeeds, he will be victorious; if he fails, he will not have to take the blame," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun's expression turned serious.

"That's a good point. The stone man has no heart, but he wants everything," Ling Manyun said.

He sighed again.

Qin Yan then said, "Qin Yao wouldn't be so despicable. These were just my casual remarks, and they were just the worst-case scenario."

To ease the tension, Qin Yan followed up on Ling Manyun's words and asked her, "If you really want to get rid of the Qin family and have the Ling family let you go through this, who would you choose?"

Ling Manyun thought about it carefully: "In the Cheng family, only Cheng Tianyu is unmarried, and the warlord has no other brothers or nephews. I don't think much of Cheng Tianyu."

Qin Yan: "He is indeed not up to the task."

"Then let's go with the Xiang family."

"Who is the Xiang family?"

"Xiang Linchuan," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan was quite surprised.

"What?" Ling Manyun asked, "He's useless too?"

"No. I thought you would be interested in Xiang Cenyan," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "He is undoubtedly excellent in every way, but what's the difference between him and Qin Yao? Why would I give up a worthless rock and choose a hard one? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"

Qin Yan: "That makes sense."

Then he asked, "You think Xiang Linchuan is suitable?"

"He's very cute."

Qin Yan: "..."

"Cute" is used to describe pets and children.

"I've figured out a lot this year: if it's a marriage of convenience, the first thing to do is to control your own heart. If I didn't like Qin Yao and only wanted to marry into the Qin family, I would already be married into the Qin family now."

"A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Choosing a person of good character for marriage is the greatest guarantee. If I had to take this step, Xiang Linchuan would undoubtedly be the best. He seems warm-hearted, kind, cheerful, and lively," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan agreed.

Neither Xiang Linchuan nor his sister were particularly cunning.

"I'll find out for you later whether Xiang Linchuan has someone he likes. If not, this can be a backup plan," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun: "Okay, thank you."

The two of them chatted for a few minutes.

After that incident, the two never brought up the topic again.

Qin Yao stayed at the Five Nations Hotel, where he was under surveillance by people sent by Xiang Cenyan while searching for Ling Manjun.

He did not use force or threats, but simply waited; in his spare time, he would meet with Xiang Cenyan, who would then introduce him to Commander Cheng.

Xiang Linzi told Qin Yan all of these things.

"What do you think of Qin Yao, brother? Did you figure out his purpose in coming to Nancheng this time?" Qin Yan asked.

Xiang Linzi: "Sister-in-law, you actually asked me about Qin Yao? Isn't he your own brother?"

Qin Yan: "So you were telling me all this to gather intelligence?"

Xiang Linzi: "..."

She knew that her clever cousin-in-law, as intelligent as the Snow Mountain Goddess, was not easily fooled, and she became complacent.

"Neither of my biological parents has the surname Qin; I just chose that name randomly. I have no relation to the Qin family in Guangzhou," Qin Yan said.

Xiang Linzi was both surprised and delighted: "You actually told me?"

"There's nothing to hide," Qin Yan said.

He added, "You must have heard other things as well."

"They say you're Lan Changming's illegitimate daughter, and also the illegitimate daughter of the Luo family in Hong Kong," Xiang Linzi said.

Qin Yan: "Neither."

Xiang Linzi: "Is it really because you look like Du Zhuojun that you were able to marry my second brother?"

After saying that, she frowned slightly, "Actually, I don't think you and Du Zhuojun look alike at all. If I had to say you look alike, you both have the same nose and two eyes, so you look alike to anyone."

I really dislike Du Zhuojun.

She was unwilling to admit that Qin Yan and Du Zhuojun's facial features were somewhat similar.

Qin Yan: "Ask the young marshal later."

"He insisted on breaking my legs," Xiang Linzi said.

Qin Yan: "..."

After wandering around the city for half a month, Qin Yan still couldn't help but call Xiang Cenyan.

Xiang Cenyan said he doesn't trust the phone and prefers to talk face-to-face.

Qin Yan invited him to her office.

"If Qin Yao came here this time with any purpose, it's just to gather information. But the south is very quiet," Xiang Cenyan said.

Qin Yan: "Did he say when he was leaving?"

"He's going to bring his fiancée back," Xiang Cenyan said. "That's what he explicitly told me. He won't go back without her."

"It's not safe for him to stay here any longer. If he kidnaps someone, can we detain him?" Qin Yan asked.

"I asked him about this. He promised not to violate the laws of Nancheng," Xiang Cenyan said.

She added, "Your friend, Miss Ling, doesn't want to go back?"

"Yes."

"The situation is complicated. The warlord is unaware of these circumstances, and Qin Yao cannot stay any longer. If he asks the warlord for help, Miss Ling will have no choice but to leave," Xiang Cenyan said.

He added, "Miss Ling should make plans soon. Does she have any plans at the moment?"

He wanted to ask Qin Yan what her thoughts and plans were.

Would she oppose the warlord in order to protect Ling Manjun?

"Miss Ling doesn't want to leave. If it really doesn't work out, she can marry into the Xiang family," Qin Yan said.

Xiang Cenyan: "I have no intention of a marriage alliance, and I'm afraid it will disappoint Miss Ling."

"I'm not interested in you, brother."

Xiang Cenyan: "..."

"She said Lin Chuan is handsome and witty," Qin Yan said.

"These young girls are really baffling," Xiang Cenyan said.

Qin Yan: "..."

The two of them had essentially communicated with each other. With Ling Manyun backed by Qin Yan, Xiang Cenyan would have to consider Qin Yan's influence if he wanted to do anything, and would probably be hesitant and timid.

Qin Yan needed to explain things to him clearly to avoid causing trouble for Cheng Tianxun and the Xiang family.

Although everyone spoke in a joking tone, Xiang Cenyan got the truth.

He exchanged a few pleasantries with Qin Yan before leaving.

Qin Yan was about to proofread the press release when Ling Manyun said she had a visitor who had specifically sought her out.

"She introduced herself as Ms. Su," Ling Manyun said. "But after asking her more closely, I learned that her husband's surname is Lan, and she is the young mistress of the Lan family."

Qin Yan: "How did you end up at the newspaper office?"

"If you don't see her, I'll go and chase her away," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan: "It's alright, let her in."