A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

The warlord's wife nodded.

Cheng Tianxun probably knew this secret too, but he just didn't have time to talk to Qin Yan about it.

Qin Yan told him not to discuss many political matters, fearing she would be held responsible if they were leaked. Therefore, Cheng Tianxun would carefully consider the importance of each matter before sharing it with her.

The warlord's wife probably didn't want to talk about these things, until Qin Yan said that Du Rongfei was going to deal with her.

"...You guessed right, Du Rongfei probably wants to get rid of you. In Du's eyes, you're in the press, the mouthpiece of the Cheng and Xiang families. He wants to put pressure on the warlords, and you're the first obstacle in his way," said the warlord's wife.

He added, "Take a few more people with you when you go out these days."

Qin Yan pondered for a long time.

She said, "Mom, Du Rongfei is trying to lobby for the North; that's treason. And Liu Jinyao is notorious."

"What do you want to do?" The warlord's wife frowned slightly. "You want to be bait?"

"I think," Qin Yan said, "I can't just sit and wait for him to harm me. There's no reason to guard against a thief for a thousand days. Besides, he's acting against the tide of history."

He added, "If we succeed, eliminating him will be another blow to the Northern government's conspiracy. We can also deal with Liu Jinyao this time."

The warlord's wife thought it was a good idea.

If it were her, she would have done the same.

"Tianxun asked me to take care of you." The warlord's wife hesitated for a moment, "If something happens to you later, don't implicate me. The bond between us, mother and son, can't withstand such a test."

Qin Yan: "..."

"I have a sharpshooter by my side. He looks rather unremarkable, but he's very convenient to have with you. He'll be your driver for the next few days. He's not assigned to you; you'll have to return him once things calm down," said the warlord's wife.

"Thank you, Mom."

"I'm serious," said the warlord's wife. "I'm telling you seriously, no matter what the outcome, remember not to mention me."

Qin Yan didn't like to grin foolishly, but at this moment she almost couldn't help but smile slightly: "Okay, I will never mention you again."

The warlord's wife was relieved.

When Qin Yan returned home that day, he had a different driver.

The driver appeared to be in his forties, with kind features, but his appearance and physique were unremarkable, as if a splash of water would erase any trace of him.

Qin Yan returned to the villa, took out the Browning that Cheng Tianxun had given her, loaded it with bullets, locked the safety, and put it in her handbag.

One day, Qin Yan anonymously sent a letter to a newspaper, fabricating several truths about bonds. It was a third-rate newspaper that loved sensationalism, and without verifying the information, published it all.

The public was terrified.

The reasons Qin Yan fabricated were obviously flawed to the press, and journalists had to write articles to refute them.

This matter has stirred up a lot of trouble.

Qin Yan's newspaper office closed early as usual.

After work, she went back to work overtime; three times in a row.

On the third day, Qin Yan returned to the villa after 9 p.m., and someone secretly followed her.

She asked the driver, "Uncle Zheng, how many people are following us?"

"Young Madam, according to my observation, there's something fishy about the two cars in front of and behind us, probably with at least eight people inside. These aren't the main force; they've definitely cornered us, trapping us like turtles in a jar. I don't know how many people are lying in ambush over there," the driver said.

Qin Yan: "I have enough bullets."

She remained completely calm.

The driver told her, "Just lie down properly and let my subordinates handle it."

"Don't kill them, leave them all alive. I'm a good shot too, we can coordinate," Qin Yan said.

The driver pondered for a moment: "Then let's divide them by direction."

They decided on the direction, with Qin Yan on the left and the driver on the right.

Sure enough, the car behind him deliberately got very close, making Qin Yan's driver notice him; the driver sped up, and the car in front cut in front, almost causing a collision.

After all this, the car reached a fork in the road, and Qin Yan's car was forced to turn onto another road.

The road became increasingly remote, and soon it came to an end, where an abandoned factory building stood.

Someone is hiding in the shadows.

The car slowly came to a stop and remained motionless.

Someone poked his head out and was immediately shot in the calf, falling forward; he tried to crawl away, but was shot in the arm and fell to the ground, unable to get up.

Fire was opened.

Qin Yan's car had all four windows shattered and bullet holes in the body, but the other party quickly ran out of strength.

As they were nearing the end, driver Uncle Zheng fired a signal flare.

Many people ran away immediately.

Qin Yan and the driver lay prone inside the car, keeping their bodies as low as possible, remaining completely still even though it was completely silent outside.

Until the "reinforcements" arrived.

Du Rongfei was playing cards at the club.

The card table was enormous, with eight people seated and standing around watching; there were also socialites serving drinks, club waiters, and more, making a total of over twenty people in the private room.

Suddenly someone barged in.

Two men dressed in black clothes and leather shoes, seemingly servants brought up by some spoiled young master, one stuffed something into Du Rongfei's mouth to prevent him from making a sound, and the other covered his head with a black cloth.

Tie his hands together and retreat immediately.

Everyone present was stunned.

This was completely unexpected and shocking. By the time someone realized they needed to help, the two men had already disappeared with Du Rongfei.

Du Rongfei's entourage sat idly on the first floor of the club, and when someone shouted, they even peeked out to watch the commotion.

The following day, the entire newspaper industry in the southern part of the city was abuzz with excitement.

The sales of every newspaper doubled.

"The second young mistress of the Cheng family was surrounded by 21 thugs, all of whom have confessed. They belong to a gang, and two of the leaders are from the Du family."

"Du Rongfei has gone missing; it's possible the Cheng family captured him."

"Governor Cheng has been inspecting his post these days; this matter should be handled by the Cabinet and the Enforcement Office."

"Are they fighting amongst themselves, or is someone sabotaging them to incite unrest in the southern part of the city?"

Whether it's the Cheng family or the Du family, the news is sensational and eye-catching enough that public opinion is almost unanimously concerned about it.

In teahouses and restaurants, everyone is talking about it.

The Garrison Command invited Qin Yan for questioning; it was the Chief of Staff who personally came to invite him, his attitude amiable and refined.

The person who arrested Qin Yan and took him to the police station was not this person, but Liu Jinyao.

Qin Yan had no objections to the new chief and cooperated fully: "On my way home from work, my car was bumped and I was cornered."

She explained everything one by one.

"It happened suddenly, and I didn't know anything about Du Rongfei."

The public had various speculations about the matter, but almost no one doubted Qin Yan.

Qin Yan's shooting occurred first, followed by Du Rongfei's kidnapping, with only half an hour between them.

Public opinion leans towards the view that "it was the same group of people who acted separately, with their targets being the Du and Cheng families."

Both Qin Yan and Du Rongfei are victims.

It would have been easier to capture Qin Yan, because in the blind spot of the abandoned factory, a woman and a driver in his forties would have been no match for more than twenty people; Du Rongfei, on the other hand, was "robbed" at the club.

The people who robbed Du Rongfei could not be found, and Du Rongfei's whereabouts were also unknown. However, among the people who ambushed Qin Yan was a steward of the Du family.

"Was this whole charade orchestrated by Du Rongfei himself? He failed to kidnap Madam Cheng, so he sent someone to 'kidnap' himself to divert attention, shirk responsibility, and gain sympathy, so that Marshal Cheng wouldn't kill him. He's currently missing; maybe he's gone into hiding."

After noticing these comments in the tabloids, Ling Manyun immediately instructed her family's morning and evening publications to work overtime to write articles.

The vernacular newspaper sold extremely well.

Public opinion quickly took over: Du Rongfei was the mastermind, and it was impossible to find him now; he was hiding in the shadows.