43

                                    

                                          
Lin Hu was still fuming from his encounter with the strange man and his entourage. He even felt betrayed by Zhuge Jun because the man did nothing to help him – instead, he looked very afraid of the man with the strange bodyguard.
He didn’t understand why Zhuge Jun acted like that. In fact, if he wasn’t in the middle of courting his sister, Lin Hu wouldn’t want to be seen together with the nerd from the Zhuge family at all.
He needed to think fast to secure his relationship with the Saintess of the Ashina Clan that his father had worked so hard to arrange, so that when she was appointed as the Empress, she could help back him and get him into a nice position in the Imperial Palace.
He took the glass of alcohol in front of him and drank it in one go, then he tried to fill it up only to realize that it was empty.
“Goddamn it, everything is so fucked up!” He threw his glass against the wall and it shattered – making the courtesans who were with him look at him with distaste.
One of them then called for more alcohol and lit up the incense filled with calming concoction, while the other started to play the guqin to soothe the young master.
“Young Master, please enjoy this alcohol.” She poured the newly came bottle of alcohol and poured it to the empty glass, then she served it to the already drunken man.
Lin Hu drank it quickly and after some time, he fell asleep on the table.
When he woke up though, instead of the room that he was in before he went to sleep, he was in a totally different place – and he was tied down on the chair.
“Wh-what the hell?” He suddenly got hit by a splash of cold water and sobered up immediately.
“Fuck! Where am I? Who are you? Do you know who you mess up with? I will tell my father to arrest you all for daring to do this to me! Untie me at once!” 
Lin Hu screamed and tried to get away from the chair but someone slapped him once, twice, three times – silencing his scream.
“If you dare to utter another word, this won’t end just by we slap you, Lin Hu.” A woman's voice was heard in front of Lin Hu but he could not see her because there was a thick red veil between them. “And yes, we know who you are. The only son of Governor Lin.”
Lin Hu opened his mouth to speak but he remembered the warning and he looked over at the man who stood beside him holding a dagger – and he changed his mind.
“Good. Now you’re learning.” The woman sounded pleased and she continued to talk. “So, I have a proposition for you.” She paused to let someone lit up her pipe and exhaled a few times before she continued. “I saw you had an altercation with a certain gentleman earlier, and I know that you must be very ashamed since you have Saintess Ashina with you.”
Lin Hu widened his eyes in surprise.
Saintess Ashina’s appearance was not known by many people except the highest level ministers, and yet, this woman knew about her? 
He gulped in nervousness.
“Don’t worry, I’m on your side. In fact, why don’t you let me help you and we can take a revenge together, and you can keep the Saintess with you? Who knows, if you do good for the country, the Emperor would reward you with her?” She chuckled. “You may speak now.”
“Uhm… why do you want to help me? I’m pretty sure I don’t know you and you sound like someone pretty high in the government position. Surely you must have more connections than me.” Lin Hu cleared his throat and hoped the brute did not slap him anymore.
“Let’s say… we have a common enemy.” Her voice suddenly turned cold. “How do you say it… the enemy of my enemy is my friend? In this case, an ally?”
Lin Hu was not as smart as Zhuge Jun, but he was not stupid either.
For someone to have an enemy in a high position as this woman, he must also be someone in high position. And Zhuge Jun always told him to not involve himself in the fight between two powerful figures or he would be ripped to shreds.
And he was about to decline the offer when the woman suddenly spoke again.
“Oh, and don’t you ever think to decline my offer since I will rather skin you alive than let you out of this place. No one ever lived after they defied me, you know.”