The Bodyguard King’s CEO Wife Chapter 1709: Leaving the City

The moment he left the room, Ye Shikai still couldn’t help turning back for a look. Mi Wen was crying—more accurately, she was shedding tears. The tears traced down her cheeks, and in her eyes there was a look of unwillingness, and hatred as well. Don’t even talk about ancient times—even in modern times, a groom running away on the day of the wedding is an immense "blow" to the bride. Not only that, the bride might later be subjected to gossip and ridicule, becoming a laughingstock among relatives and friends. What’s more, Mi Wen was a dignified lord in her own right. After tomorrow, the matter of "Ye Shikai fleeing the marriage, Mi Wen cruelly abandoned" would likely spread through every street and alley of Linxiang City. This was precisely where Ye Shikai’s guilt lay. No matter what, choosing to run away on the wedding night was a "brutal blow" to Mi Wen.

If there had been a better opportunity, Ye Shikai would never have waited until the wedding night to act. Only at this time would Mi Wen relax her vigilance, and Linxiang City was guarded even more heavily than usual; only by resorting to such a last-ditch tactic did he have any hope of escaping.

Before leaving, Ye Shikai placed a letter he had already written on the table. Inside were the words he wanted to say to Mi Wen. If nothing unexpected happened, this might be the last time the two of them ever saw each other.

There was naturally no "surveillance" inside the room, but there would definitely be Mi Wen’s personal guards stationed in and around the manor outside. Although Ye Shikai possessed Inner Strength and could easily leave, for safety’s sake he had to slip out without a sound and avoid being discovered as much as possible.

"Netherworld King Spell—Shadow Clone." Ye Shikai used the Main God Skill and instantly produced an Avatar. The clone was exactly the same as his true body, wearing a bright red groom’s robe and sitting in the outer courtyard, drinking tea and admiring the moon. With a clone there, it should be enough to fool those guards.

Ye Shikai hurriedly changed into a black night-walking outfit, circulated his Inner Strength, flashed a few times, easily vaulted over the high wall, and left Mi Wen’s residence.

Mi Wen had inhaled the drug Ye Shikai had used; theoretically, it was enough to render her immobile for four hours. But her close-serving maids would very quickly notice that something was off. The Shadow Clone he had conjured did not have its own independent mind and naturally could not "adapt on the fly." Once those maids found that no one responded from inside the room, they would definitely enter to remove the drug’s effects from Mi Wen’s body. Dispelling it was not difficult at all; they only needed a cultivator’s help. Therefore, the time left for Ye Shikai was not much.

Ye Mansion.

Ye Shikai did not take the main gate; instead, he directly vaulted over the wall and "jumped" in. The Hidden Guards watching the courtyard thought it was an intruder and moved to attack, but after seeing who it was, they quickly halted.

"Greetings, Family Head."

"Greetings, Family Head."

Ye Shikai rushed straight into the courtyard. He Linghan was there, and besides her, there were Shangguan Jian and dozens of officers from the guard units. These were all trusted men.

"Ling’er." Ye Shikai pulled He Linghan into his arms on the spot. At this moment, he didn’t care that there were outsiders present. He Linghan’s tears fell like strings of broken silver beads onto the ground. After several days apart, both of them were extremely emotional.

"Ling’er, I’m sorry I wasn’t by your side." Ye Shikai hurried to explain.

"Husband, don’t worry. I’ve already finished reading that divorce letter; I understand what you meant." He Linghan reached up to wipe away her tears and took that divorce letter from the table. In ancient times, writing went from top to bottom and right to left; but if you read the first line of this divorce letter from left to right, it spelled out, "Not my will, wait for my return."

This was a "hidden message" letter.

Modern people write horizontally and from left to right, so if you don’t consider the script itself, a modern person would spot it at a glance. But Mi Wen might not see the mystery in it, and given how agitated she had been at the time, it was normal that she didn’t notice.

Back when Ye Shikai had explained to He Linghan that he came from the modern world, they had discussed many things. Ye Shikai had even taught her how to use a cellphone. When they talked about writing, Ye Shikai also explained to her the modern format of writing. So when he insisted on writing the divorce letter himself, he was "betting" that He Linghan would notice the hidden message in it—and as it turned out, she really had.

Ye Shikai tossed the divorce letter into a nearby brazier and watched as it turned to ash.

"Old Ye, we received your secret letter through the pastry shop’s Shopkeeper and immediately made arrangements according to your plan," Shangguan Jian stepped forward and said.

"Excellent." Ye Shikai nodded in response. In truth, that pastry shop had been opened with his money. Making money selling pastries was secondary; the main goal was to gather information about all the big and small happenings in the city. Also, there were quite a few street urchins in the city. Ye Shikai had instructed the Shopkeeper to give them some pastries every day, which could be considered a charitable act.

The day he went to the pastry shop, he naturally wasn’t there to buy pastries, but to send out the secret letter he’d written. It set out his entire plan.

"Time is short. Once Mi Wen comes to her senses, she’ll definitely order the city gates sealed and send troops to surround the Ye Mansion. We have to leave here immediately," Ye Shikai said excitedly.

"Don’t worry, Old Ye. The North Gate Commander is one of my trusted men. We’ll set off right now. I’ll personally lead two thousand guards to escort everyone out of the city. Outside the city, Man Cang and Wan Qi Yuan have already taken their troops and are waiting."

Kill, kill.

Suddenly, faint shouts drifted in from outside the mansion, and everyone felt their hearts tighten.

"Report to Family Head: there’s movement in the Imperial Guard camp. Twenty thousand Imperial Guards have already assembled, and it seems they’re coming for us," a Hidden Guard ran over to report. Ye Shikai’s heart lurched—he hadn’t expected Mi Wen to move this fast.

"Old Ye, Sister-in-law, we need to go now, or it’ll be too late."

"Don’t panic." Ye Shikai shouted loudly, "Everyone, follow me."

They followed Ye Shikai out of the Ye Mansion and into the large residence opposite. This place had previously housed their retainers; ever since Ye Shikai dismissed them, it had fallen into disuse.

"Old Ye, what are you looking for?" Shangguan Jian asked curiously. Ye Shikai didn’t answer. He rushed straight into the study, went to a corner of the room, tapped the floor lightly with a bamboo stick a few times, then circulated his Inner Strength and slammed his fist down.

Rumble.

With one heavy punch, the floor collapsed, revealing a tunnel beneath.

"This tunnel leads directly out of the city. Everyone follow the tunnel and leave," Ye Shikai shouted. They were escaping, not moving house, so aside from two or three of He Linghan’s close maids, all the other house servants had already been dismissed. These were all instructions Ye Shikai had written in the secret letter.

"Old Ye, when did you dig this tunnel? How come I didn’t know about it?" Shangguan Jian was pleasantly surprised. With this tunnel, they could avoid a direct clash with the Imperial Guards.

"It wasn’t me who dug it; this was all the Think Tank’s arrangement." Ye Shikai let out a long sigh and took from his pocket the brocade pouch Xu Jia had given him. The note inside said nothing else—it simply explained the existence of this tunnel. Xu Jia truly could foresee things like a god. Everything that happened today was something he had already anticipated, which was why he had people dig this tunnel in advance.