Treacherous Alliance

The Hu Family of Twin Sun Red Dragon City was headed by Hu Tu. Of his several sons, only Hu Ye held an official post at court; the other three were engaged in pursuits that outsiders found rather unreliable. With utter "candor," Lin Qi told Long Qiantú that old Master Hu Tu was deeply dissatisfied with this state of affairs.

But the Blood Qin Empire had only so many official positions, while aristocratic clans and great houses were countless. If Hu Tu's three sons entered government service with their abilities, they would surely meet tremendous resistance! Therefore, Hu Tu wanted to snatch chestnuts from the fire and reap a windfall—to use Long City's rebellion to purge a batch of civil and military officials from the court, then have his own relatives fill the vacancies.

This was the excuse Lin Qi had found for Hu Xinzhu's appearance here.

Hu Xinzhu also "forthrightly" laid bare his "true feelings" to Long Qiantú. "Who in this world does not wish to rise? My three uncles are masters of strategy, thoroughly versed in military affairs; there is nothing in civil administration or criminal law that they do not understand, and they are skilled in all the ways of the world and human dealings. Why should they not be officials? Among all the civil and military officials at court, how many can compare with my three uncles?"

With a "grief-stricken" sigh, Hu Xinzhu stared straight into Long Qiantú's eyes and sneered. "Old Master Long, if the Eagle-Soaring General's rebellion is handled well, my Hu Family can surely gain enormous profit. And your Long Family will only gain even more, won't it?"

Long Qiantú stared fixedly at Hu Xinzhu. After a very, very long time, the letter and envelope in his hand suddenly became a wisp of