Regardless of whether Xiaoyao truly didn't want the princely title, now that this was being investigated, he would definitely be blamed by the family head. He now felt deep regret—why had he been so talkative, inviting this unnecessary trouble?

Most importantly, the other party didn't even care about this princely position—he was purely making trouble for nothing.

"Who has opinions?" Luo Yunqing asked coldly.

Please don't mention me, please don't mention me!

Luo Junming prayed silently in his heart—he didn't want to be called out by name...

"That someone just now—oh right, Brother Junming, the disciplinary elder's son. He said I wasn't worthy," Xiaoyao said with a smile.

It's over...

Xiaoyao was the type who wouldn't offend others unless they offended him first, but if someone did offend him, he didn't mind teaching them a lesson. Therefore, he would speak up about it, clearly naming names.

"Junming?!" Luo Yunqing looked at the head-lowered Luo Junming. He understood—this matter must have been Luo Junming meddling. Regarding Xiaoyao's ennoblement, there were quite a few opposing voices, which Luo Yunqing naturally knew about.

Originally, he felt this matter was nothing, because he thought Xiaoyao wouldn't come anyway. Let them oppose—suppressing their voices would only create discordant sounds, so he hadn't bothered.

Who would have thought Xiaoyao would actually return? This gave him a bit of a headache. If he had known, he would have suppressed these voices.

In fact, Luo Yunqing had originally planned to address this later, but he hadn't expected things to develop so quickly. How could they be so impatient?

Luo Yunqing had originally thought quite well of Luo Junming, but after this incident, his evaluation dropped significantly, directly affecting Luo Junming's position in the Luo family.

"I think it's not just him who thinks this way—he was just more direct about saying it. So I feel this princely position isn't quite suitable for me, but I want to keep the mansion and change its name when I go back," Xiaoyao said with a smile.

"Regardless of what they think, once you're given a title, it won't be taken back. This matter ends here—no need for further discussion. How about we talk about why you're unwilling to change your surname instead?" Luo Yunqing was also quite straightforward, not continuing with this topic and directly saying it was decided as is.

His latter words, besides changing the subject, were also something he quite wanted to ask about. Previously, Luo Yunqing and others thought Xiaoyao didn't change his surname because he didn't want to acknowledge Third Master, but now understanding this was a misunderstanding, they naturally had different thoughts, though he was certain Xiaoyao wouldn't change.

"It's true that I'm Luo Yuntian's son, but that doesn't mean I must take his surname. Those who bore and raised me have that qualification," Xiaoyao said calmly.

Just giving birth to me but not raising me naturally made a big difference—there was no such qualification.

While Xiaoyao's words made people understand his meaning, they also felt somewhat unfilial. But speaking of being unfilial, he could sacrifice his life to save his father, which showed he wasn't unfilial—this was a very contradictory feeling.

"Alright, let's wait until Yuntian returns to discuss this matter. After all, it's between you father and son," Luo Yunqing said somewhat awkwardly, knowing this topic wasn't good for him to continue and regretting why he had brought it up—this was completely asking for trouble.

"Then, family head, I'll take my leave first. Regarding the princely matter, I still feel I'm not qualified. You can discuss it more," Xiaoyao smiled, then took his leave and returned. Anyway, his meaning had been expressed and his purpose achieved—the rest wasn't his concern.

"This kid really... others dream of having it, which is why they're jealous, yet he doesn't want it... Well, for him, it really isn't much," Luo Yunqing felt somewhat helpless, then sighed.

He knew Xiaoyao's abilities best. Although this was only part of Xiaoyao's capabilities, just this part was enough for him to be certain that Xiaoyao could become a core figure wherever he went. The Luo family was just a small temple—he was here merely because he had Luo family blood.

What was laughable was that people in this small temple of the Luo family felt Xiaoyao didn't deserve status here. If he didn't care about it, he would have left long ago, and the Luo family's loss would be great.

"All of you listen clearly—no one should question Xiaoyao's position. This is what he deserves. If you can have his usefulness, I can give you the same status, including my position," Luo Yunqing said coldly. He also wanted to warn everyone not to let the same thing happen again.

Although everyone could clearly sense the warning in these words, most still held doubtful attitudes, because Luo Yunqing's words also implied that Xiaoyao's usefulness was already enough for him to sit in the family head position—this was what everyone doubted.

Did Xiaoyao really have such great usefulness?

They might never understand this question, because Luo Yunqing hadn't explained this matter clearly, and Xiaoyao couldn't possibly tell others about these things. They could only investigate on their own, but how much could they find out?

Whether the people around believed it or not, they all agreed and wouldn't make issues about Xiaoyao anymore. They all understood this would bring them no benefit.

"How was it? Did you settle it?" When Xiaoyao returned to his seat, the Young Miss asked.

"No, he wouldn't take back the title. Never mind—anyway, I didn't accept it, so I can refuse to acknowledge it," Xiaoyao said indifferently, serving some food to Guxing, then drinking a cup of wine with the Young Miss.

"I accepted it—I represented you," Third Miss Nangong said at this moment, looking at Xiaoyao with very serious eyes. This surprised Xiaoyao somewhat, because he had never seen Third Miss with such a serious expression.

"...Alright, even if I accepted it, I can still resign. It doesn't matter," Xiaoyao said after a moment of silence, acknowledging this point. This surprised the girls nearby, including Third Miss Nangong herself.

"Why don't you say I can't represent you, that this fiancée status wasn't agreed to by you?" Third Miss Nangong asked with some confusion.

"If you like using the fiancée identity, then use it. As for why—it has nothing to do with this. You can represent me, at least in these matters, I have no objection," Xiaoyao said with a smile.

"Ah..." All the girls were stunned. They hadn't expected Xiaoyao to say this—that they could represent him. Although it seemed only to a certain extent, this still showed one thing: he was treating them as his own people.

They all knew that although Xiaoyao seemed polite and friendly, he actually maintained a certain distance from people—not truly close, including them.

The only person truly close to him was Guxing alone—this was unquestionable, and they wouldn't feel jealous about it, because Xiaoyao and Guxing had grown up together since childhood, which they didn't have.

Envious? They definitely were, but they weren't in love with Xiaoyao—they just really liked him. This kind of liking was pure affection between people, without romantic love.

They also believed that between Guxing and Xiaoyao there was also only liking. Xiaoyao hadn't even considered being with Guxing, otherwise he wouldn't be looking for someone else to be his wife.

But this didn't seem to be a problem either. If one day Guxing suddenly said she wanted to marry Xiaoyao, he would probably nod and agree—after all, he was marrying a wife anyway, so why not marry Guxing, his childhood friend?

These girls probably all understood this thinking, so privately they all said Xiaoyao was a heartless idiot who would marry any woman.

However, he seemed like he would only marry one wife. The reason would be answered in the following conversation.

"Xiaoyao, if all of us wanted to marry you, would you take us all?" Nangong Suxin asked with a smile, seemingly joking on the surface, but actually she was very curious and wanted to know this answer.

Actually, when they said they would use Xiaoyao's fiancée status, they had already thought about and discussed this—if Xiaoyao found out later, would he take them all or just some of them?

The Young Miss's opinion was that Xiaoyao definitely wouldn't marry Nangong Suxin because he wasn't familiar with her, while she herself definitely had no problem because Xiaoyao had already agreed to let her use the title nominally.

Nangong Suxin also felt the Young Miss's words made some sense, but firmly refused to admit defeat, refuting the Young Miss's words, saying she had everything needed and would definitely be the most suitable wife—Xiaoyao would definitely choose her one hundred percent.

"Take them all? Don't be ridiculous—he's mine," Hei Xue spoke up.

"Shut up!" the Young Miss and Nangong Suxin immediately shouted. "It's not your turn to speak here."

"You all..."

"Ahem, don't fight. Seeing you like this, I think marrying just one would be enough. I can't afford to support so many of you," Xiaoyao spoke up.

"You can afford it. You've been supporting us for so many years without seeming to find it difficult," the Young Miss said with a smile, patting Xiaoyao's shoulder.

Honestly, Xiaoyao had indeed been supporting them these past few years. Whether tuition, pills, or other things, all were provided by Xiaoyao—basically he was supporting them.

"I find it very difficult. Besides, if I married you all, I'd have to have children in the future, and raising children would be very difficult too," Xiaoyao said very seriously.

"You don't need to worry about the children—we'll raise them ourselves. You just need to plant the seeds," the Young Miss said very domineeringly.

"..." Xiaoyao fell silent.

"Right, you don't need to worry about children. Our current family assets are enough to raise them," Nangong Suxin said.

"..." Xiaoyao continued his silence. The Young Miss was already speechless enough—why was Nangong Suxin joining in this nonsense? Had they become emotionally close from being together so long?

Just as everyone was talking about children, something suddenly happened that stunned everyone for a long time and left them unable to react.

"Eh?" Xiaoyao made a small sound of surprise, as if he had discovered something.

"Daddy..."

A little girl, delicate as carved jade, threw herself into Xiaoyao's arms, calling out affectionately.

(End of Chapter)