The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife-Chapter 507 - 510. Taken Away (1 more update)
G country, Shen Qinglan woke up in a splendid mood this morning. Wen Xiyao was pregnant, and her brother was about to have his own child, even more exciting to her than her own pregnancy news.
"Mrs. Fu, you seem in very good spirits today," Ye Qing said gently.
Shen Qinglan’s face was full of smiles. "Indeed, what is our schedule for today?"
"The Queen mentioned that she would take us to visit the most famous art palace here—the Jialin Art Museum."
Jialin Art Museum was the largest art museum in G country and one of the top three grand art palaces in the world. It had been in existence for over a hundred years and had significant historical importance. Learning that today’s plan was to visit there, Shen Qinglan showed rare interest.
Queen Adele Bus admired Shen Qinglan’s paintings. Today’s plan was amended last minute after learning that Shen Qinglan had accepted her invitation, specifically arranged for Shen Qinglan.
Jialin Art Museum, a royal art museum, was not normally open to the public, only accessible to notably esteemed guests, housing peak works of world-renowned artists. Many artists took pride in visiting. While famous paintings had been displayed before, Shen Qinglan was interested in those masterpieces, noting that photographs did not compare to the original.
"Madam," Shen Qinglan greeted the First Lady, Qiao Jinyu, who smiled faintly, "Qinglan, good morning."
Qiao Jinyu had met Shen Qinglan once last year when she had attended a dinner hosted by her, following Fu Hengyi, hence this was not their first encounter.
Today’s breakfast was eaten with the Queen. Originally, Qiao Jinyu had arranged a translator for Shen Qinglan, but she hadn’t anticipated that Shen Qinglan would speak the language of G country; consequently, the translator was no longer needed.
Conversing directly with the Queen, without the need for a translator, was naturally the most convenient way. The Queen enjoyed talking to Shen Qinglan, who was knowledgeable on various topics, humble and courteous, without coming off as arrogant.
After breakfast, they prepared to head to the Jialin Art Museum. Naturally, Ye Qing was by Shen Qinglan’s side. Originally expected to take separate cars, the Queen, however, invited Shen Qinglan to ride together at the last minute.
"Qinglan, go ahead," the First Lady said with a smile, showing no displeasure.
The Queen affectionately held Shen Qinglan’s hand, conversing with her. Their car was flanked by others, part of the protection detail, with numerous hidden guards along the way. Shen Qinglan only casually glanced out the car window and spotted several sniper points.
Midway, the car in front suddenly stopped, and Ye Qing went to check.
"There’s been an accident at the intersection ahead; it’s being handled," Ye Qing reported.
Hearing this, Shen Qinglan felt something odd, as such an incident shouldn’t have happened in this situation.
However, this was another country; others would handle any issues, and all she needed to do was wait. Soon enough, the car started again.
Jialin Art Museum truly lived up to being one of the three grand palaces in the world. Although it didn’t house as many pieces as the other two, each piece was exquisite—a sight Shen Qinglan thoroughly enjoyed.
Adjacent to the Jialin Art Museum was a restaurant where they intended to dine at noon. After exiting the museum, lunchtime naturally meant heading to the restaurant, taking a different route back, still sharing a car with the Queen.
However, mid-route, Shen Qinglan’s peripheral vision caught a small red dot flitting past. Her expression changed subtly, and she instinctively pushed Ye Qing away just as a bullet flew through the window and lodged into the seatback. Had Shen Qinglan not reacted quickly, Ye Qing might have been severely injured.
With no time to thank her, Ye Qing immediately drew his gun and assumed a defensive posture, the convoy descending into chaos. At this moment, Shen Qinglan was beside the Queen of G country.
Someone dared attack them, especially under such circumstances, leaving the Queen extremely enraged.
"Miss Shen, are you alright?" the Queen asked.
Shen Qinglan shook her head; she wasn’t the target, so naturally, she was unharmed. She looked through the rear window at Qiao Jinyu’s car, relieved to see it hadn’t been attacked, reassuring her of Qiao Jinyu’s safety.
This meant their car was the target, likely the Queen herself, the most logical conclusion—if the attackers had intended to hit them, targeting Qiao Jinyu’s car would have made more sense.
The other party clearly came prepared, the firepower was fierce, and no one had expected that someone would dare to make a move under such tight security. The Guard Team of Country G was caught off guard, and although they reacted in a very short time, casualties had already occurred.
"Terrorist attack?" Shen Qinglan silently speculated.
Shen Qinglan had originally thought that the Guard Team of Country G would be able to handle the situation, but in the end, they were outmatched. Watching the enemies surrounding them, Shen Qinglan couldn’t clearly describe what she felt at the moment.
The target was indeed them, and after surrounding their car, there were no further actions from the attackers. Shen Qinglan, looking at the gun barrels pointed at them, made no moves. She had no weapons on her, only Ye Qing and another bodyguard responsible for the Queen had weapons. In such a situation, the best course of action was to wait and see.
Shen Qinglan was most concerned about Qiao Jinyu’s safety at this moment.
The attackers asked them to get out of the car, Shen Qinglan and the Queen got out, and the weapons that Ye Qing and the bodyguard had were confiscated by the attackers. The Queen stood by Shen Qinglan, looking fairly calm, but her face was somewhat pale.
As soon as Shen Qinglan got out of the car, she looked at Qiao Jinyu to see if she was hurt and felt somewhat relieved upon seeing she wasn’t, but didn’t dare to relax as the intentions of their attackers were still unclear. But soon, Shen Qinglan understood.
The attackers were clearly organized, after surrounding them, a leader-like figure appeared, a young man in his early twenties.
"Queen Adele, we meet again," the young man said with a smile.
The Queen, seeing the person, immediately recognized him. "Derek, it’s you."
Derek? Hearing this name, Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered. If she remembered correctly, the youngest son of Joseph Glover, leader of one of the world’s top three terrorist organizations, was named Derek. Could it be him?
Shen Qinglan suddenly remembered something Jin Enxi mentioned a while ago, Joseph had been captured by Country G. If this person really was Derek, then this operation was to rescue his father, and that’s why they were surrounding them but not shooting to kill.
Shen Qinglan’s guess wasn’t wrong, Derek indeed wanted to rescue his father, but it wasn’t so easy to extract someone from the hands of Qi Country and Country G’s military. The best strategy was a hostage exchange. So, he set his sights on Queen Adele. The Queen usually lived in the palace and seldom went out. This visit by the First Lady of Country Z offered the perfect opportunity.
For this operation, Derek had planned for a whole month. However, the outcome was satisfactory to him.
"My Queen, and this distinguished guest, may I have the honor of inviting you to my home?" Derek’s invitation was directed at the Queen and Qiao Jinyu. His words were polite but carried an undeniable authority, leaving no room for refusal; they had to go with him today.
"I can go with you, but these two are guests from Country Z, of high status. I hope you can let them go," Queen Adele stepped forward and said.
Derek’s gaze swept over Shen Qinglan and Qiao Jingyu. Pointing at Qiao Jingyu, he said, "She cannot leave, she can go," referring to Shen Qinglan.
The more bargaining chips he had, the greater his chances of rescuing his father. If Country G’s royal family didn’t care about their Queen, he still had hostages from Country Z, and Country G couldn’t afford to not care.
"I’ll go with you," Shen Qinglan spoke calmly.
Derek looked at Shen Qinglan, who explained, "This lady has a severe heart condition, and can’t handle stress. If anything goes wrong during the process of taking her, my country won’t let you go. I think, your goal is to rescue your father and not to be enemies with Country Z, right?"
Derek was silent. His father, Joseph, had once said, "Avoid provoking Country Z if possible." He hadn’t originally intended to involve anyone from Country Z, but he was concerned that Queen Adele alone wasn’t sufficient leverage, so he thought of taking an additional person. But if that woman really did have a severe heart condition, then taking her would indeed be troublesome. If anything happened, it would provoke the military of Country Z, leading to endless troubles. With this in mind, Derek had already made a decision, but he needed to confirm one thing.
"So, who are you?" Derek asked.
"I am Leng Qingqiu, also Shen Qinglan, from the Fu Family of Country Z; you should know, I am the granddaughter-in-law of the Fu Family."
Anyone somewhat aware of Country Z’s political system would have heard of the Fu Family, especially those like Derek, who dealt with the military year-round. While he had not interacted with Country Z’s military, he knew the Fu Family was a famous military and political family in Country Z.
Knowing Shen Qinglan’s distinguished status and observing that she appeared to be a delicate woman compared to someone who might fall ill at any moment was naturally much preferable.
"Alright, you two come with me; let that one go," he said to his men behind him.
Qiao Jinyu looked at Shen Qinglan with concern, and Shen Qinglan gave her a comforting look. Qiao Jinyu was truly defenseless, and these people were desperados; if something happened by chance, the consequences would be unpredictable.
She had the ability to protect herself, and from Derek’s attitude just now, it was apparent that he didn’t really want to offend Country Z. Therefore, it was very likely that he wouldn’t harm her.
Ye Qing couldn’t just watch Shen Qinglan being taken away and wanted to stop it, but Derek’s men shot at him. If Shen Qinglan hadn’t spoken up at the last moment, Ye Qing might have been dead.
Shen Qinglan glanced at Ye Qing, the bullet hadn’t hit a vital part; timely medical treatment would save him.
Fu Hengyi learned that Shen Qinglan had been taken by the terrorists, and his expression changed drastically. The government of Country Z hadn’t anticipated that what was originally a routine visit would encounter such an incident.
"I request to participate in this rescue operation," Fu Hengyi said to his superiors. Since a citizen of Country Z had been taken hostage, they couldn’t just wait for Country G to act. Moreover, since the incident occurred on Country G’s end, after negotiating with them, they allowed Country Z to send a small team of no more than ten people to assist in the rescue.
Naturally, the rescuers would be from Sharp Blade. Fu Hengyi had already retired from Sharp Blade, and without submitting an application, he couldn’t go.
"Hengyi, they will successfully bring back your wife. You must trust your former comrades." If it had been a general rescue mission, the leader would have confidently let him go, but the person taken was his wife. Fu Hengyi had deep feelings for his wife, which everyone knew. The leader was worried that he would lose his necessary composure due to his wife’s plight and make poor judgments, so he did not want Fu Hengyi to go this time.
"Qinglan is still waiting for me," Fu Hengyi said. "I hope to personally bring my wife back this time. I will act rationally and not impulsively." Concerning Shen Qinglan’s safety, Fu Hengyi also dared not lose his composure.
The leader thought for a long time and finally nodded. "This operation must also coordinate with Country G."
"I understand," Fu Hengyi said gravely, aware of what needed attention in a foreign country.
This time, most of the people going on the rescue were familiar faces to Fu Hengyi, except for two who were new recruits; he knew the others—Zhang Wei, Houzi, Mu Liancheng...
Although Fu Hengyi didn’t know the two newcomers, they knew of him. Fu Hengyi was a legend in Sharp Blade, and his stories had been told to them from their first day in the force. They had always regretted not being able to meet Fu Hengyi in person, but now they had met him here and could even perform the mission together with him; the two new members were thrilled.
"Captain, we get to work together again," Houzi said with a grin, and it wasn’t just the newcomers who were excited, these old-timers were too. They knew that among those taken this time was Fu Hengyi’s wife, and their primary mission was to rescue Shen Qinglan.
"I’m no longer your captain now; just call me Captain Fu," Fu Hengyi spoke indifferently.
"But you are commanding this operation; you are still our captain," Mu Liancheng said.
"Right, Captain, at least you are still our captain for this operation," Zhang Wei chimed in.
Since it was negotiated with Country G, their entry into Country G’s territory went smoothly. According to the agreement between both sides, they went in unarmed; all weapons were provided by the other side.
After meeting with the other side and learning some basic information, Fu Hengyi realized the complexity of the situation.
Derek had taken Queen Adele and Shen Qinglan in order to rescue his father, Joseph. However, Joseph had been executed the day after his capture, meaning they had no hostage to exchange with Derek.
Country G had kept Joseph’s death a secret also to use his situation to trap other members of the base.
Joseph had been involved in frequent terrorist activities over the years, causing trouble for many countries, especially Country G, resulting in significant economic losses. If anyone hated Joseph the most, it would definitely be Country G, which had long wanted to eliminate him. After capturing Joseph, executing him was understandable.
Derek did not yet know of Joseph’s death, so Queen Adele and Shen Qinglan were undoubtedly safe for now, but once he learned of this news, the safety of these two individuals could no longer be guaranteed.
Upon learning the real situation, Fu Hengyi’s expression darkened.
"Captain, what should we do now?" Mu Liancheng also realized the difficulty of the situation.
"First, have Country G keep Joseph’s news under wraps; absolutely do not let Derek’s people find out. Then, find a way to have Country G’s people negotiate with Derek. We’ll infiltrate and rescue," Fu Hengyi quickly came up with a plan of action.
Although they were on G Country’s territory, he did not trust their people, and Shen Qinglan had to be rescued by them personally.
Mu Liancheng went to negotiate with the G Country side, who quickly agreed to their action plan. Only now, the priority was to confirm the other party’s location.
But now they did not know where Derek had taken Shen Qinglan and Queen Adele; they could only act once the location was confirmed.
"Can we pinpoint their location?" Fu Hengyi asked in a deep voice, addressing Charles, the captain of the special forces team sent by the G Country side to liaise with them.
"We can’t pinpoint it yet, our people are checking, and we should have news soon," said Charles. Actually, they could also wait for Derek to come to them to negotiate terms, as his goal was to rescue his father, not to kill members of the G Country royal family. But that approach was too unpredictable, and no one knew what complications might arise. Given the identities of Queen Adele and Shen Qinglan, they naturally couldn’t afford any mishaps.
**
At the base, Shen Qinglan and the Queen stayed in a room, heavily guarded at the door.
To be cautious, Derek kept a tight watch over the two of them. Shen Qinglan took a look out the window and noticed that although the security was tight, it wasn’t impregnable. She could leave by herself without a problem, but taking the Queen with her would make things significantly harder.
Thus, for now, Shen Qinglan couldn’t leave yet. At this moment, Shen Qinglan did not know that Fu Hengyi had already arrived in G Country.
"Miss Shen, I’m sorry for getting you involved this time," Queen Adele said apologetically, as Derek’s target was her.
Shen Qinglan waved her hand, "This incident was unexpected; no one could have foreseen it."
"Miss Shen, don’t worry, people from our country will soon come to rescue us, and we will surely be alright," Queen Adele said, though it was unclear whether she was reassuring Shen Qinglan or herself.
Shen Qinglan wasn’t worried about that; her thoughts were on how to get out of there.
Queen Adele actually did not know about Joseph being shot; if she did, she wouldn’t have been so composed.
The door opened and Derek walked in, his youthful face bearing a warm, appropriate smile—as if no one could guess that such a gentlemanly young man was actually the leader of a terrorist organization.
"Miss Shen, welcome to our base as a guest," Derek said with a smile. He had already checked Shen Qinglan’s identity, which was indeed prestigious; even if only she were involved, the G Country royalty would exchange hostages for her.
This meant he had to be extra careful with Shen Qinglan for now—at least she couldn’t be injured, as that would rile up the people from Z country. Although they had already offended Z country to some extent, the difference between Shen Qinglan being safe and injured was significant.
"Miss Shen, Queen Adele, don’t worry. Our people have already gone to negotiate with the G Country royal family. Once terms are settled, I will personally take you back. In the meantime, your safety will also be ensured; our people will definitely not harm you," Derek said.
His demeanor was very polite, and aside from not letting them leave the room, their treatment hardly resembled that of prisoners.
Derek was about to continue speaking when someone came in and whispered something in his ear. Derek glanced over at Shen Qinglan a few times, Shen Qinglan’s eyes flickered, and she looked back at him, but Derek had already turned his attention away and nodded to the person, saying, "Understood," before the person walked out.
"You seem to know quite a few people, Miss Shen," Derek said, his meaning unclear.
A flicker of doubt passed through Shen Qinglan’s eyes, but her face showed no sign of disturbance.
Derek changed the subject, "It’s getting late, Queen Adele and Miss Shen Qinglan should rest for now. Tomorrow I will go to negotiate with the G Country royal family. If all goes well, you could be back home by tomorrow night."
Watching Derek walk away, Shen Qinglan felt, for some reason, that things were not as simple as they seemed. It was an intuition, and also a terrifying one.
After leaving, Derek went to meet someone—if Shen Qinglan were there, she would realize that this person was none other than the long-unseen Su Qing.
