A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

The dog days of summer have begun, and the weather is extremely hot.

Qin Yan's work hours were extended because it was hot at four o'clock in the afternoon, and she would melt if she went out. She preferred to wait in the office until five o'clock.

Cheng Tianxun is busy with the military government, but he may go to inspect the base next month.

Luo Qisheng came to Qin Yan's newspaper office.

Ling Manyun stopped him from going upstairs, but he said, "I have something to say to Qin Yan, you can listen in."

Ling Manyun remained steadfast and impartial: "If just anyone could see the president, she'd be swamped with work every day."

Luo Qisheng waited downstairs.

When Qin Yan finished work.

He stood under a tree by the street, golden sunlight filtering through the shade and falling all over his head and face, making his eyes appear even paler.

He waved to Qin Yan.

Qin Yan always felt bad whenever she saw him: not only because of the past, but also because Madam Luo's revenge was not yet complete.

This time, she didn't run away.

"My aunt asked me to contact you; she wants to ask for your help," Luo Qisheng said.

Qin Yan: "What kind of busy?"

"She wants you to provoke the second concubine. If the second concubine continues to lie low, we need to keep stalling. Another royalist outpost in Tianjin has been destroyed, and a famous assassin failed in his assassination attempt and was killed in retaliation. The second concubine is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with, and we must seize the opportunity," Luo Qisheng said.

She added, "My aunt said she avoids meeting you, creating a false sense of secrecy to make the second concubine even more suspicious."

Qin Yan listened and said seriously, "Okay. I will send someone to kidnap Cheng Tianyu to thoroughly enrage the Second Madam. However, I need Manyun to move out of the small mansion."

She understood Luo Tang's intentions, but she wanted to protect Ling Manjun.

Luo Qisheng: "Did you tell Miss Ling about this yourself, or did my aunt tell her?"

"Let Auntie handle it," Qin Yan said.

Luo Qisheng nodded.

The two then parted ways.

Qin Yan returned home, took a shower, and sat in the bedroom working on the remaining documents while waiting for Cheng Tianxun to return.

As soon as he returned, Qin Yan told him about her meeting with Luo Qisheng.

"Let me help you!" Cheng Tianxun said.

Qin Yan: "Yes, I need your help. I'm only good at assassination, not kidnapping."

Cheng Tianxun couldn't help but chuckle.

Qin Yan can handle the dead, but not the living; he's truly a specialist in his field.

The young couple discussed how to plan for this matter.

Cheng Tianxun said, "Starting from the military, I will promote a few people to replace Cheng Tianyu, and even threaten Cheng Tianrui, so that the old house will be 'completely destroyed.' The second concubine will not be able to sit still."

Her current confinement is merely a tactic to appease the warlord.

She knew very well that she was attached to the warlord, like a vine; without the warlord, she would immediately fall from her height.

She wanted to restore the monarchy, and she wanted the fruits of that restoration to fall into her son's hands; she absolutely could not lose the warlord's trust.

She needs to have a stronger sense of crisis.

"...Lan Zheng and Lan Jun are both useful, I want to promote them both," Cheng Tianxun added.

He tentatively asked Qin Yan, "In this way, Lan Changming won't receive any punishment. Do you mind?"

"The important thing is to focus on the big picture," Qin Yan said. "I told you before that I don't hate Staff Officer Lan. He arranged a marriage for me, which gave me a future given my circumstances at the time; he also gave me 20,000 silver dollars."

Lan Changming was not an accomplice to Qin Yan's difficulties; he was simply ignorant.

Then he made a wrong decision, which seemed very unfair to others. But his decision did not harm Qin Yan.

At least Qin Yan didn't suffer those injustices, and she wasn't hurt.

On the contrary, she received a lot.

Qin Yan has a positive outlook on things, just like that gardenia tree. No matter how harsh the conditions are, it will always find a way to absorb sunlight through the cracks and survive.

She doesn't waste energy on hating.

Otherwise, she would have been filled with endless hatred, had no energy to do anything, and wouldn't be where she is today.

There's another reason why Qin Yan doesn't hate Lan Changming: she was once Ye Xianting's daughter. Compared to Ye Xianting, Lan Changming, this stranger, seems more human.

Cheng Tianxun hugged her.

Soon, Cheng Tianxun began to deal with it.

Governor Cheng felt that these minor official positions were insignificant; but in the eyes of the old man and Cheng Tianrui, they would be greatly impacted.

Last time, the military training in Yicheng was conducted by the governor, who sent Lan Changming; now, Lan Changming's sons have been promoted, almost replacing the two from the old residence.

The two sons in the old house had little faith in the warlord's "fatherly love." The eldest son, Cheng Tianrui, in particular, was extremely panicked.

His panic made Cheng Tianyu even more panicked.

So the second concubine was released from confinement. With a little trickery, the warlord reinstated her to her original position and put her in charge of the old mansion.

When the warlord returned to his residence, he was in a bad mood and slammed his fist on the table in front of his wife.

"What's wrong?" the warlord's wife asked.

"You know that the second son's wife might be a spy planted by the royalists? You keep talking about the royalists, but it turns out the second son is the one with an ambiguous relationship with them," the warlord said angrily.

He added, "The second son now holds great power, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law want to give him an important position, but he has fallen for a honey trap."

The warlord's wife's expression changed.

She stood up, looking at the warlord with a serious expression: "Don't say such things again!"

The warlord was taken aback, then abruptly stood up: "Xiang Ying, are you perhaps confused? Didn't you understand a single word I said?"

"Even without Tianxun, the Xiang family's territory and army would never have fallen into your hands. You think you can destroy Tianxun by slandering my daughter-in-law? Only you would believe such despicable means!" The warlord's wife's voice was authoritative.

He added, "Qin Yan has had a rough life, and some people are making a big deal out of her past. You're just taking this opportunity to retaliate against her and smear her because her newspaper criticized the restoration movement!"

Governor Cheng's face turned ashen with rage: "What are you saying? Listen to yourself, is any of this even reasonable?"

"Why don't you listen to what you've said first?" The warlord's wife said sternly. "I cannot allow anyone to smear Tianxun and Qin Yan."

"Do you dare say that Qin Yan has absolutely no connection with the royalists?" the warlord asked.

The warlord's wife recalled Qin Yan saying that she had once been in the royalist party's assassin organization.

But so what?

Who can provide evidence?

Cheng Tianxun showed the warlord so much evidence of the second concubine's identity, but the warlord still pretended to be blind.

"Of course I dare to say it!" said the warlord's wife. "It has nothing to do with her. Next time the second concubine says something like that, ask her if she's clean herself."

Xiang Ying wanted to continue talking about the second concubine.

Governor Cheng immediately lost his temper: "Fine, fine, I won't argue with you. Don't blame me if Tianxun gets tricked in the future."

"You cursed the child?" Xiang Ying's voice suddenly rose.

Seeing that she wouldn't stop, Governor Cheng turned and left.

However, news of the warlord and his wife's quarrel spread like wildfire and eventually got out.

The person responsible for relaying the message was Xiang Linchuan.

As long as he speaks, there is no one in the entire upper class of the southern city, including high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants, who does not know him.

Upon inquiring, everyone learned that someone had spoken ill of Qin Yan, and the warlord's wife had argued with the warlord in defense of her daughter-in-law.

As for what was said, no one knows. But it was probably the second concubine who sowed discord between Qin Yan and the warlord's mansion.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Qin Yan went to the old house.

She went to see the second concubine.

"I heard you slandered me?" Qin Yan asked politely.

The second concubine smiled and said, "What are you saying?"

"You know a lot about the royalists, and you can't even clear your own name, so why are you dragging me into this?" Qin Yan asked.

She quickly pulled a gun from her handbag and aimed it at the second concubine.

The second concubine was taken aback.

Her smile faded: "You're not that reckless. Killing me won't do you any good, nor will it do Cheng Tianxun any good."

"I won't kill you, it would dirty my hands," Qin Yan said. "I'm just here to warn you. If you do this again, I'll make you suffer terribly. You have a weakness."

The second concubine clenched her molars.

Qin Yan fired his gun, smashing the crystal chandelier and glass windows in her living room.

The warlord also heard about her causing a scene at the old house.

The warlord was even angrier.

"This shrew, does she even respect me? Is it the Lan family backing her up, or Tianxun?" the warlord cursed.

But he dared not go to the warlord's wife to scold her.

The warlord's wife was clearly bewitched by Qin Yan and was very protective of her.

Qin Yan is likely a royalist; it wasn't the second concubine who told the warlord. If she had, wouldn't she have been exposing herself?

But why did Qin Yan have to threaten her?