Chapter 751

Noble Consort Dong came to put on an act, while Grand Princess Xue Lingjun had come under the Emperor's order to soothe the emotions of the Dakang envoy side; as for Minister of Rites Sun Weiyuan, he came to handle all the aftermath affairs. Although it's now too late to make amends, doing it late is still better than not doing it.

Noble Consort Dong, Minister of Rites Sun Weiyuan, and Hu Xiaotian met face to face, exchanged a few apologetic pleasantries, and then Noble Consort Dong went to the inner court to see her son.

Minister of Rites Sun Weiyuan brought many people over, responsible for arranging Princess Anping's posthumous affairs.

After everyone left, Grand Princess Xue Lingjun's gaze fell on Hu Xiaotian's grim, sorrowful face, and she softly sighed, saying: "Brother Hu Xiaotian, I have come this time bearing the Emperor's verbal decree; the Emperor has me convey his apologies to you. The matter of Princess Anping is not what Da Yong wishes, nor do we want such a thing to happen. The Emperor bids you rest assured: Da Yong will surely find the culprit in the shortest time and severely punish all involved."

Hu Xiaotian said calmly: "Even if all those involved in the case were killed, my princess would not come back to life."

Elder Princess Xue Lingjun bit her cherry lip and said, "Hu Xiaotian brother, I can understand your feelings right now. If you have any thoughts or demands, just speak plainly to me; as long as I can do it, I will certainly do my best." In fact, her imperial brother Xue Shengkang meant the same; he is preparing to make some compensation to the Dakang envoy on this matter, and the Dakang side also needs to provide a concrete explanation. Although Xue Shengkang has long harbored the ambition to annex Dakang, before taking action, some face-saving matters still need to be done; in front of the world, they do not want to lose propriety.

Hu Xiaotian said, "I only want to bring the princess's remains back to Dakang as soon as possible, so her soul can return to her homeland; that's all I can do now."

Xue Lingjun said, "Hu Xiaotian brother, we deeply regret the princess's matter. In our hearts we certainly regard the princess as family; when something happens to her, we are as grieved as you. His Majesty has a request, hoping you can delay your departure by a few days, wait until after the princess's seventh day, then bring her remains back to Dakang." According to folk custom, it is believed that after death the soul wanders everywhere before the seventh day, and at midnight of the seventh day it returns home; family should burn a ladder-shaped object at home so the soul can climb this heavenly ladder to heaven.

Hu Xiaotian understood that Xue Lingjun's proposal to retain him was likely due to Da Yong's political needs; they could use this time to make efforts, performing rites for the princess's soul. On the other hand, it amounted to compensation for the princess's assassination in Yongdu.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian's hesitant expression, Xue Lingjun spoke softly: "His Majesty intends to personally come to the Qixing Palace on the seventh day to mourn and see off Princess Anping."

Having come to this point, Hu Xiaotian could not refuse; if the Da Yong emperor were willing to come in person, it would give Dakang full face. Although Princess Anping is a Dakang princess, to Dakang her life is of little importance; they would not become enemies with Da Yong over her assassination. Given Dakang's current situation, they also lack such confidence. Hu Xiaotian could be certain: over these seven days Da Yong will surely arrange the princess's funeral with great pomp, giving full face to Dakang; if he refused, that would be acting arbitrarily. It seems leaving Yongdu immediately is no longer possible.

Thinking this through, Hu Xiaotian said to Xue Lingjun, "Thanks to the emperor's great favor toward the princess, now I can only accept."

Seeing Hu Xiaotian finally agree, Xue Lingjun's face showed relief: "Hu Xiaotian brother, you can also rest well these few days."

Hu Xiaotian gave a bitter smile: "The princess's corpse is not yet cold; how dare I indulge in fantasies." He whispered, "Elder sister, I have an improper request."

Xue Lingjun said, "Go ahead and say it."

Hu Xiaotian meant to cremate the princess's remains on the spot; originally he wanted to bring her body back to Dakang, but now it's been reduced to minced meat—he couldn't possibly carry a lump of flesh all the way back.

Xue Lingjun said, "Actually I think the same; rest assured, I'll handle this."

Consort Dong also didn't understand why her son was so grief‑stricken; she had thought he was just putting on an act in public, but seeing Xue Daoming's appearance, overnight he had become gaunt, his eyes blood‑red, the sorrow in his gaze impossible to fake.

Xue Daoming said, "Mother Consort, I intend to stay at the Qixing Palace these few days."

"What?" Consort Dong could hardly believe her ears.

Xue Daoming said, "Although Xi Yan never became my wife, we had entered a marriage pact; I ought to treat her as a deceased wife."

Consort Dong looked around, making sure no one was present, then reached out to touch his forehead and exclaimed in shock, "You child, could you be possessed?"

Xue Daoming said, "Mother Consort, my resolve is firm!"

Consort Dong lowered her voice: "It's just for show to silence gossip; why make yourself suffer?"

Xue Daoming pressed his lips and said, "Mother Consort, when parting from Xi Yan I suddenly realized I had seen her in a dream…" Saying this, tears glimmered in his eyes, showing his genuine feeling.

Consort Dong simply didn't believe such nonsense; if she had known beforehand that after seeing Princess Anping her son would miss her so much, she wouldn't have let him come act and see her one last time. Consort Dong reminded him: "Xue Daoming, you and she were total strangers; you never met before, so there's no way you could have feelings; your current grief is merely due to your compassion." Consort Dong secretly thought her son might feel guilty over Long Xi Yue's death; she herself felt the same, although she opposed the marriage alliance, it wasn't out of antipathy toward Long Xi Yue—her tragic end made even Consort Dong feel a bit bleak, and she too felt some guilt.

Xue Daoming said, "Mother Consort, if I had come to see her earlier, perhaps Xi Yue would not have died."

Consort Dong really grew a little afraid; she grabbed her son's shoulders and said, "Xue Daoming, clear your head a bit—her death has nothing to do with us; some things are heaven‑ordained, not something we can change."

Xue Daoming shook his head gloomily and said, "Mother Consort, please go back."

Consort Dong's voice trembled: "You child, how can you be so despondent? Have you forgotten your ambitions? How can you indulge in love?"

Xue Daoming, gazing at the cold jade coffin, said, "Mother Consort, let me calm down a bit. I will not forget my ambitions and duties."

Seeing her son like this, Consort Dong felt both anxious and worried, but she dared not say more; she could only wait for his emotions to settle before trying to persuade him again.

Hu Xiaotian now finally understood what "plans cannot keep up with changes" means; although he hated to just pat his butt and leave right away, reality forced him to stay a few more days.

Zhou Mo heard they still had to stay in Yongdu for seven days before leaving; he also felt a headache, and what truly troubled him was still that demoness Xi Yan—the commotion she caused last night at the Red Mountain Guild Hall might just be the beginning; it's hard to say she won't take other actions.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Big brother, I want you and the little brat to go first."

Zhou Mo stared blankly: "Why?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "You saw what happened last night; I'm worried something else might happen, so I want you to go first to Hailing Commandery."

Zhou Mo understood Hu Xiaotian's meaning. Hu Xiaotian's biggest worry was still Long Xi Yue, but Long Xi Yue had already gone ahead to wait in Hailing Commandery, and Zhan Peng and Gao Yuan were protecting her nearby, so there should be no gaps: "If we leave, you'll have no one looking after you."

Hu Xiaotian smiled calmly: "The princess is already dead. Who would still care about my Dakang marriage‑mission history? Moreover, Da Yong has repeatedly lost face and will surely try every way to make amends; big brother, you needn't worry about my safety."

Zhou Mo asked, "Are you worried that the demoness will move against us to blackmail you into helping her?"

Hu Xiaotian lifted his head to look at the overcast sky. A faint smile touched his lips; although Xi Yan acts without scruples, she seems never to have truly harmed him—even the dangers he encountered last night were because he ignored her prior warnings and rashly entered the palace chambers. Hu Xiaotian whispered, "Big brother, rest assured, I have my own way to deal with her."

Zhou Mo looked at Hu Xiaotian, his face full of doubt. He didn't doubt Hu Xiaotian's wisdom; he doubted this remark of his—since the demoness impersonated Princess Anping and infiltrated the marriage envoy, Hu Xiaotian's overt and covert clashes with her should have been countless, yet it seems this brother of his hasn't gained any advantage.

From Zhou Mo's doubtful expression, Hu Xiaotian already guessed what he was thinking; he smiled faintly: "Big brother, your martial arts may be superior to mine, but in this regard I'm a bit better than you—between men and women there's no need to decide a winner; if you take a woman seriously, you will surely lose."

Zhou Mo blinked his eyes, somewhat bewildered, and said, "A good man doesn't fight women?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "There's some truth to that—the more competitive the woman, the less you should quarrel with her; let her take the small advantages, let her think she's got you figured out, and there will always be a time to make her suffer a big loss."

Zhou Mo's mouth fell open: "Third brother, you seem quite experienced."

Hu Xiaotian said, "So‑so; big brother, if you have any emotional troubles later, just come to me—I may not be talented, but I can still help you sort things out."

Zhou Mo lowered his voice: "You and that demoness…"

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows and said, "Gossip, I say when did you become so gossipy? My personal love life is my privacy."

Zhou Mo laughed while shaking his head and said, "Don't forget, someone is still waiting for you." The person he meant was naturally Princess Anping Long Xi Yue; Zhou Mo had personally witnessed her deep affection for Hu Xiaotian and already regarded them as a couple in his mind. Reminding Hu Xiaotian of this certainly carries another meaning—he worries Hu Xiaotian might be bewitched by the demoness Xi Yan. In his view, regarding character, inner nature, and appearance, Xi Yan has nothing comparable to Long Xi Yue; moreover, this Xi Yan is the holy maiden of the Wuxian Sect, and if she becomes entangled with Hu Xiaotian, trouble will surely follow.

Only one more monthly ticket shy of fifty; reaching fifty is the outbreak point, so the third update is bound to explode—thus Zhangyu decided to go ahead and explode first. Still one ticket short, I believe my brothers and sisters will surely chip in, so I won't make everyone stay up late; I'll update first—could someone please make up that monthly ticket for me? (To be continued… ^~^)"