My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 124 Showing Up
Under the protection of a thousand elite cavalrymen of the Great Chu, Bo Yan and his elder brother Bo Li, accompanied by their mother Xi Jiu, returned safely to Jiangling City from the family estate.

After entering Jiangling City, Qu Fu immediately bid farewell to Bo Yan and led a thousand elite cavalrymen of the Great Chu to the palace. Under the military order of Xiang Chang, he took over the defense of Jiangling City.

Bo Li also led dozens of family guards and hurried to the palace to meet his father Bo Pi to help his father control the situation in the palace.

Dozens of carriages carrying Bo Pi's wife Xi Jiu, eldest daughter Bo Yan, and a dozen concubines, under the protection of family guards, returned to the long-lost Bo's mansion in a mighty procession.

On the way to the mansion, Bo Yan looked out from the carriage and found that the noisy vehicles, merchants, and people in the past were gone. It was deserted, with only teams of soldiers in distinctive armor patrolling from time to time. In a short distance, he encountered three groups of checkpoint soldiers who stopped him for inspection. Of course, when he learned that they were from the Bo Pi clan of the Great Pillar State, he immediately let them pass respectfully.

When passing by the residence of Songchan, one of the nine ministers of the kingdom, Bo Yan saw a large number of soldiers as ferocious as wolves and tigers rushing into the mansion, killing all of Songchan's family guards and male members, confiscating their private property, and escorting the concubines who were crying and howling to the sky to the square in front of the palace for centralized custody.

When Bo Yan saw that the general in the lead was someone he knew, Meng Xia, the guard of the East City Gate, he stopped the carriage and called him over for questioning. Meng Xia already knew that Bo Yan was Xiang Chang's concubine, so she hurried over to report respectfully that Song Chan was a remnant of the rebellious general Huang Jizhong, who had always been dissatisfied and plotted evil, and was ordered to be strangled by Xiang Chang.

Bo Yan nodded, and with a warm expression, he comforted Meng Xia with a few words, and without further delay, he continued his journey home.

When they arrived in front of the mansion, Bo Yan got off the carriage and saw his father's concubines looking impatient, pouting and laughing. They were like butterflies flying through flowers, flying into their respective courtyards in endless ease and joy. He couldn't help but frowning.

She supported her frail mother Xi Jiu, passed through the numerous houses, pavilions and flower gardens, and entered the inner room of the backyard. The servants who stayed behind hurriedly served hot soup, fruits, and exquisite snacks, and then left with their hands hanging down.

Seeing that Bo Yan remained silent, with his beautiful eyebrows slightly knitted, looking somewhat worried, Xi Jiu smiled and gently patted his daughter's hand: "Why do you frown after entering Jiangling City? When you were in the manor, you were worried about the eldest son Xiang Chang, and you couldn't eat or sleep well. Now that the eldest son has taken control of the situation in Jiangling City, he will come to see you soon. You should be happy, why are you still unhappy?"

Xi Jiu was born into a prominent family in the old Chu state, and was able to become the legal wife of Bo Pi. She was originally very dissatisfied and unwilling that Bo Pi defected to the Great Chu state and insisted on giving her precious daughter to Xiang Chang as a concubine.

After all, the Chu Kingdom had been weakened by Liu Bang's Han Dynasty in recent years. Although it had not collapsed, it was obviously on the verge of death. Xi Jiu was worried about surrendering to the Chu Kingdom at this time, and even betting his entire family on it without leaving any room for maneuver.

For example, right now, Xiang Chang, the eldest son of the Great Chu State, brought only a thousand cavalrymen and trudged from Gaixia, wanting to swallow up the entire Linjiang Kingdom. Although he had his husband, Bo Pi, the Great Pillar of the State, as an internal supporter and the support of the whole clan, it was really too whimsical, and it was no exaggeration to say that it was "a snake swallowing an elephant".

Xi Jiu, who was not optimistic about this, not only insisted on keeping Bo Yan's daughter and son Bo Li by his side to live with her in the manor, instead of letting Bo Li help her husband Bo Pi in Jiangling City. In addition, he secretly gathered the guards who came with the dowry, prepared vehicles, and prepared to take their children back to their own mother's home in Nanchu for refuge if Xiang Chang and Bo Pi failed in Jiangling City.

However, to her surprise, this Young Master Xiang Chang was extremely strategic and resourceful, very different from his father who had only courage and strength but lacked strategy. Even though the ground was full of thorns and dangers, he still managed to clear the way step by step and captured the Linjiang Kingdom.

Although there is General Huang Jizhong leading 20,000 Northern Army soldiers outside the city, the most difficult part has undoubtedly passed. With the geographical advantage of Jiangling's high city and thick walls, there is at least a 60% to 70% chance of holding on.

At this point, Xi Jiu could not help but regret his previous double-mindedness, so after returning to Jiangling City, he immediately sent his son to the palace to assist his husband Bo Pi. Of course, he also changed from being disgusted at the beginning to being happy to see Bo Yan become Xiang Chang's concubine, and was very happy.

As the eldest son of the Great Chu, Xiang Chang not only has a noble status, but is also of similar age to my daughter. Moreover, he is intelligent, brave, and even subdues her husband, the old fox Bo Pi. Looking at him now, he has many advantages. It can be said that he is a good husband for my daughter that is hard to find in the world. What else can she ask for?
Facing his mother's question, Bo Yan shook his head gently: "Mother, Jiangling City is under complete martial law right now. Soldiers are patrolling the streets closely and there are many checkpoints. Haven't you noticed anything about this?"

Xi Jiu was stunned and fell into deep thought as he didn't expect his daughter to say such a thing.

“It can be seen that although Master Chang and my father have taken control of Jiangling City, the situation is still not optimistic. It can even be said that they have relied on the army to suppress the situation, and the nobles, both big and small, in Jiangling City have not yet given their all. On the surface, we have the upper hand, but secretly we have great worries, and we are afraid that there will be a danger of overthrow at any time.” Bo Yan sighed lightly.

After listening to Bo Yan's calm analysis, Xi Jiu nodded and sighed, "I just hope that your father and Master Chang will be blessed by heaven and continue to have smooth sailing and calm down these hidden worries. We women can do nothing but pray for God's blessing for them."

"No!" Bo Yan raised her eyebrows, her dark and lustrous eyes shone brightly, and for a moment she exuded a stern aura, "Who says women can't do anything? Back then, Queen Fu Hao of the Shang Dynasty led the army to fight for the King of Shang. I don't want to stay in the backyard and wait for things to settle. I want to go out and help Master Chang and my father."

When Xi Jiu heard this, he opened his mouth halfway, his face dull, and he said with a chuckle: "You, you are a noble lady, you want to show up in public? How can you do this?"

"Mother, our Bo family is now deeply bound to Da Chu. If Da Chu prospers, our Bo family will prosper; if Da Chu falls, our Bo family will perish. Do you really think that if Da Chu falls, you will take me and my brother back to my grandfather's house, and they will take us in? Since our Bo family has chosen to bet on Da Chu, we should go all out and leave no room for maneuver. Master Chang said, one should not do it, and two should not give up. Being indecisive is the most undesirable."

Xi Jiu stared at his daughter who suddenly became a little strange. After a long while, he sighed and said, "You are better than your mother, and you are worthy of being your father's daughter. Well, do whatever you want to do. Xi Yong will do his best to help you."

Bo Yan was overjoyed. He stood up, bowed to his mother, and ran out.

"First, don't do it; second, don't stop. - That kid is not very old, where does he get such great magic power to make Yan'er, who has been precocious since childhood, so obsessed with Sandao?" Xi Jiu murmured to himself as he watched his daughter's tall and graceful figure flying away.

After leaving the elegant house where Xi Jiu lived, Xi Yong, the leader of Xi Jiu's dowry guards, received an order from the mistress of the house and led dozens of guards to bow to Bo Yan.

From now on, the entire Bo family mansion will obey the orders of a new voice.

"Order all the family's slaves and maids to gather in the courtyard, immediately!" Bo Yan's words were crisp and cold. After giving Xi Yong's instructions, he turned around and returned to his own residence.

Not long after, Bo Yan appeared in the family courtyard again, with a completely different image.

She took off her gold hairpins and pearls, wrapped her jet-black hair with a piece of cloth, took off her complicated and gorgeous long gown with curved hems, and changed into a short-sleeved top that was convenient for riding and shooting. She also wore a layer of light leather armor on the outside and even hung a sword around her waist. Combined with her tall stature, her entire appearance and temperament suddenly became heroic, capable and dashing, which made people look at her sideways.

The Bo family is the top aristocratic family in the Linjiang Kingdom. They have more than a hundred slaves and maids serving the masters. Now they are divided into several rows and stand neatly in the courtyard, waiting for Bo Yan's next order.

When Bo Pi's concubines saw that their maids and servants were gathered in the courtyard in a very abrupt manner, they did not understand why. So they walked out of their respective houses and stood in the house next to the courtyard. They looked on with displeasure, their faces covered with a light frost.

Bo Yan turned a blind eye, holding his sword with one hand and gently shaking his cloak with the other, like a tall and proud willow, and shouted coldly at the servants and maids:

"The current military situation in Jiangling City is urgent, and the rebels outside the city may rush into the city at any time. Our Bo family is tied to the safety of Jiangling City. If Jiangling City is safe, our Bo family will continue to enjoy wealth and prosperity; if Jiangling City is destroyed, no one will be safe under the overturned nest. Therefore, no matter which master you are serving, you don't have to serve from now on. Organize into two teams of men and women, follow me to the military camp in the city, prepare military rations, feed horses, use military equipment, sew battle robes, take care of the wounded, and help defend the city."

Hearing Bo Yan's stern words, the servants and maids were greatly surprised. They could not help but make a commotion and whispered to each other.

Bo Yan's face sank, his eyes were as sharp as a knife, and he slowly scanned left and right one by one.

Wherever she passed, all the servants and maids felt a chill in their hearts. For the first time, they discovered that this eldest daughter, who used to be reserved and gentle in her words, actually had such a majestic side. They all lowered their heads and kept their mouths shut.

"Bo Yan, what did you say? You want to take all the slaves and maids away? What should we do then? Who will serve us?"

The Bo family's mansion had strict rules, and the servants and maids dared not act rashly, but Bo Pi's concubines could not help it. A beautiful concubine, about 17 or 18 years old, rushed out first and angrily said to Bo Yan. With her leading the way, the other dozen concubines followed and surrounded Bo Yan, talking in unison, like a group of mountain swallows, chirping, full of indignation, and shouting non-stop.

Seeing Bo Yan being besieged by concubines, Xi Yong raised his eyebrows and became furious. However, seeing that these women were Bo Pi's favorite concubines, he could not help but be cautious and had to swallow his anger and call over a smart servant to go to the backyard and quickly inform Madam Xi Jiu of the matter.

"I just said that the situation is critical now. Our Bo family must take the attitude of living and dying together with Jiangling City, and the whole family must fight for the final victory. You all have hands and feet, and we haven't asked you to do rough work. You cook for the soldiers and feed the horses, but you can't just take care of yourself for a few days. The Bo family will remember your hard work these days, and I will report to father and mother later and compensate you." Bo Yan slowed down his tone and explained patiently.

"Bah, who wants your compensation? Do we need that little compensation? Bo Yan, don't use the safety of Jiangling City to scare us women. Jiangling City has the master and so many soldiers. It is as safe as Mount Tai. Do you need these servants to cause trouble? Anyway, I don't agree. From childhood to adulthood, I have never dressed and cooked for myself. You are sincerely torturing us. Xiaorou, Xiaoyun, Xiaozhu, Xiaoran, Anfu, Jinfu, all of you come back. I want to see who dares to take you away and make you do rough work without my consent?"

The beautiful woman had a face full of anger and spoke fiercely.

This concubine was named Manxun. She had always been the favorite of Grand Pillar State Bo Pi, even to the point of being obedient in everything he said. As a result, she was usually the most arrogant and domineering. Sometimes, she even ignored the main wife Xi Jiu.

Seeing Manxun's savage words, which made Boyan's face turn pale, the other concubines were greatly encouraged and they all spoke out, calling out their slaves and maids from the queue and were about to leave with them.

The servants and maids were terrified and reluctant to do such heavy work after hearing what Bo Yan said. But now they were overjoyed to see their masters helping them. Seeing that Bo Yan's momentum was completely suppressed by his masters, they looked at Bo Yan, the eldest daughter of the family, with disdain and contempt.

"Manxun, you mean, you don't even want to put in the hard work of these few days?" Bo Yan took a long breath, the anger in his heart could no longer be suppressed, his pair of beautiful eyes like lacquer slowly narrowed, a sharp and cold light shone through them.

"No! What can you do to me?" Manxun's beautiful face was full of sarcasm. She said this coldly, and deliberately gave Boyan a sidelong look as if to show off. Then she shouted to her servants and maids, "Go, come back with me immediately."

Bo Yan drew his sword out of its sheath, and without saying a word, he stabbed her through with a "whoosh".

Manxun never thought that Bo Yan would dare to kill her, the concubine who was most favored by Bo Pi, the Great Pillar State. The sneer and mockery on her face froze, and she lowered her head slightly, looking at the long sword that pierced deeply into her body. Her expression changed drastically, revealing endless fear, terror, and - begging!
She stretched out her hands and grabbed Bo Yan's armor tightly. She opened her mouth and wanted to say something quickly, but her mouth was filled with blood. With a face full of despair and fear, she slowly fell to the ground.

For a moment, the whole courtyard was dead silent.

All the concubines, servants and maids looked at the figure that originally looked quite frail but now looked as resolute and fierce as a sharp weapon. Their faces changed drastically, their bodies trembled slightly uncontrollably, and their eyes were filled with fear.

"Since you are not willing to work hard for a few days, then you might as well not make any effort. If you die, you won't have to suffer anything." Bo Yan said seriously, looking at Manxun's body on the ground.

"Ah... murder... murder..." The good sisters who were alive and well just now turned into corpses in the blink of an eye. The impact was so great that more than a dozen concubines woke up as if from a dream. They were out of their bodies, clenched their fists and screamed miserably. Some even lost control of their bladders due to fear.

"Shut up! You're making so much noise! ​​If you don't want to die, shut up." Bo Yan frowned and shouted.

The next moment, all the screams stopped. All the concubines were trembling all over, shaking violently, but they kept their mouths tightly shut, not one of them dared to make a sound.

Bo Yan nodded with satisfaction and turned to look at the slaves and maids who were serving Manxun.

The slaves and maids were completely pale, and they all knelt down with their heads buried deep in the ground and their buttocks raised high. The smug and disdainful expressions they had just had were gone.

"Are you willing to die with Manxun and be loyal slaves and maids? Don't worry, my family values ​​loyal slaves the most. As long as you die with me, we guarantee that you will be buried with honor." Bo Yan said coldly.

All the servants and maids raised their heads, shook their heads vigorously, and looked at Bo Yan with pleading expressions.

"Go back!" Bo Yan shouted angrily with a look of disgust on his face.

The maids and slaves jumped up as if they had been pardoned, and crawled back to their original ranks. At this moment, they were magically full of anticipation for the heavy labor in the military camp that they had just hated.

"What about you guys? Can you please work hard for a few days?"

In response to Bo Yan's question, all the concubines nodded repeatedly, winking at their servants and maids, asking them to quickly return to the line.

Good women don't suffer a loss in front of them. All of Bo Pi's concubines secretly made up their minds to pretend to be submissive and obey Bo Pi on the surface. When Bo Pi returned to the mansion, they would immediately file a complaint. Given Bo Pi's favor for them, they would definitely punish Bo Yan severely.

Humph, we’ll talk about it then, but I didn’t hear who laughs last or who laughs best?
The authority of the head of the family in the world is supreme and cannot be challenged. Bo Yan's rude behavior, even stabbing his favorite concubine with a sword, will really anger his father Bo Pi and make him furious.

Bo Yan knew all the concubines' thoughts. He held up the shining sword, looked at the blood on it, and said something coldly that made all the concubines' hearts sink:

"If you think you can sue me after Bo Pi, the Great Pillar State, returns home, then you are wrong. I dare to do this, so I am not afraid of your lawsuit. Let me tell you clearly that now I am not only Bo Pi's daughter, but also the concubine of Xiang Chang, the eldest son of the Great Chu State who controls the entire Jiangling City. With this identity alone, even if my father learns about this and is extremely angry, he will have no choice but to sigh and dare not touch me at all!"

Bo Yan became Xiang Chang's concubine, which was a secret of the Bo family and had been kept secret. The concubines who just learned the news at this time finally changed their expressions.

If this were true, Bo Yan would be helpless even if he killed all of them, not just one favored concubine.

As the concubine of the eldest son of the Great Chu, not even Bo Pi, not to mention the King of Linjiang, dared to touch her.

"Well done! Well done! Xi Yong, drag the body of this vixen to the flower garden and bury it to feed the flowers." Xi Jiu hurried over from the backyard with several maids, and shouted sternly from a distance.

When they saw the wife coming, especially hearing these words, all the concubines were shocked again. None of them dared to get angry. They lowered their heads, looked submissive, held their breath, and became as well-behaved and docile as kittens.

"Yi Lian, Yi Mei, the four of you should also stand in line."

After Xi Jiu said this, she looked at her four personal maids who also obediently stood in line. In this way, Xi Jiu, the mistress of the house, would be the same as them. There would be no one to serve and take care of her for the next few days. All the concubines' faces changed again. Only then did they truly realize that the situation in Jiangling City might be as critical as Bo Yan said.

They looked at Manxun's body being dragged away with complicated expressions, knowing that this concubine, whom Bo Pi loved the most, had probably died in vain.

Bo Yan had never expected that her mother would support her to this extent. Originally, she wanted to leave the four maids to serve her mother. When she saw her mother doing this, she opened her mouth to persuade her, but looking at the concubines around her, she finally closed her mouth helplessly.

(End of this chapter)