Worthy Consort Dong had come to put on an act, while Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun had come on the emperor's orders to soothe the Great Kang Mission's anger. As for Minister of Rites Sun Weiyuan, he was there to handle all the aftermath. Though it was already too late to make amends, doing so late was still better than doing nothing.
Worthy Consort Dong and Sun Weiyuan met briefly with Hu Xiaotian and offered a few apologetic pleasantries to save face. Then Worthy Consort Dong went to see her son in the Inner Court.
Sun Weiyuan had brought quite a few people to arrange Princess Anping's funeral affairs.
After everyone else left, Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun's gaze settled on Hu Xiaotian's grief-stricken face. She sighed softly. "Brother Xiaotian, I came bearing His Majesty's spoken decree. His Majesty asked me to convey his apologies to you. What happened to Princess Anping was never Great Yong's wish. We never wanted anything like this to happen either. His Majesty asks you to rest assured that Great Yong will find the murderer as quickly as possible and punish everyone involved without mercy."
Hu Xiaotian said flatly, "The princess is already dead. Even if you kill everyone involved, our princess won't come back to life."
Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun bit her cherry-red lip. "Brother Xiaotian, I understand how you feel right now. Whatever thoughts or requests you have, tell me plainly. So long as it is within my power, I will do everything I can." In fact, her imperial elder brother Xue Shengkang had meant much the same thing. He intended to offer the Great Kang Mission some compensation over this affair, and Great Kang needed a concrete explanation as well. Although Xue Shengkang had long harbored ambitions of annexing Great Kang, until he made