Chapter 106: Is the Prince Really This Poor?

The Ji family didn’t have enough rooms, so Xiang Xinyao decided to send her parents and brothers to a guesthouse in the county town.

“Father, Mother, the house is too small to accommodate so many people. Why don’t we head to the county town now and find a guesthouse to stay in?” she suggested.

Xiang Taifu and Madam Xiang Taifu both looked reluctant. They just wanted to stay in the village and spend time with their precious daughter, and they had no desire to stay in a guesthouse.

“As long as we can see you at all times, even if we sleep on the ground, we won’t mind,” Xiang Taifu said.

Xiang Xinyao shook her head. “No, we must stay at the guesthouse tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll buy bedding and then we can sleep on the ground.”

Uncle Ji spoke up, “Xinyao, if your parents don’t want to go, then let’s not. I’ll go to the old scholar house with your aunt, and your sisters, Chunhua and Chunlan, we can stay at the third and fifth brothers’ houses for the night. We’ll figure it out tomorrow. As for those outside, I’m afraid I don’t have enough space to accommodate them. With so many people, I simply can’t manage.”

Mo Jinnan smiled indifferently. “Don’t worry about them, Uncle Ji. Rufeng will take care of them.”

When Rufeng heard his name mentioned, he quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

Uncle Ji nodded. “Alright, if you can manage, then it’s fine. But it will be a bit crowded, so I hope you won’t mind.”

Xiang Taifu waved his hand. “We don’t mind, not at all. As long as we have a place to sleep, we won’t complain.”

Madam Xiang Taifu smiled and echoed, “Yes, we’re just happy to be with Xinyao. As long as we can see her, we won’t mind where we stay.”

Xiang Xinyao felt a flash of warmth and gratitude in her heart. “If that’s the case, then let’s make do tonight. It’s getting late, and even if we head to the county town now, we won’t be able to buy any bedding. We’ll go tomorrow.”

Uncle Ji’s house had three rooms, so the arrangement was made: Madam Xiang Taifu, Xiang Xinyao, and Xiang Xinyu would share one room; Xiang Yanzhuo and Xiang Yancheng would share another; and the biggest room would be for Xiang Taifu, Xiang Yanlin, and Mo Jinnan.

Xiang Xinyao, still thinking about the animals in her space, told everyone she was going to her room to tidy up. After locking the door behind her, she quickly entered the space.

She fed the wild boar and the other animals as quickly as she could, not daring to stay too long, and then exited the space.

Before nightfall, everyone had finished washing up.

Uncle Ji and his wife, along with the two Ji sisters, went to the homes of Ji’s three sons, leaving the space for Xiang Xinyao and her family.

The Xiang family and Mo Jinnan sat around the pine oil lamp in the main room, casually chatting.

Xiang Xinyao turned to Mo Jinnan. “Mr. Mo, thank you for helping me find my biological parents.”

Mo Jinnan raised an eyebrow. “How do you plan to repay me? I hope it’s not just a few words of thanks.”

Xiang Xinyao raised an eyebrow in return. “And how do you want me to repay you?”

Mo Jinnan smirked. “How about offering yourself to me?”

Xiang Xinyao froze. “…?”

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned to her.

Xiang Xinyao furrowed her brows slightly. “Could we find another way to repay you?”

“Why change it? I don’t lack anything. I don’t really need anything at all,” Mo Jinnan said, casually leaning back in his seat.

“I’m still underage and not thinking about marriage right now,” Xiang Xinyao replied, trying to avoid the awkwardness.

Mo Jinnan’s grin widened. “I can wait until you’re of age.”

Xiang Xinyao’s mouth twitched. This guy… I should never have saved him back then.

Seeing her unwilling expression, Mo Jinnan couldn’t resist teasing her further. “No matter whether you want to offer yourself to me or not, you’ll eventually be my wife.”

“Why should I?” Xiang Xinyao asked, her tone a little displeased.

“Because we were engaged since childhood. As long as I don’t wish to cancel the engagement, you will never be able to break it off in this lifetime,” Mo Jinnan replied with a confident smile.

Xiang Xinyao looked at her parents, her eyes filled with confusion.

Xiang Taifu scratched his head awkwardly and explained, “Xinyao, it’s true. Your mother and Empress Helian are like sisters, and when you were still in swaddling clothes, the late emperor and Empress Helian arranged the engagement for you two.”

The late emperor? Empress Helian?

Xiang Xinyao’s mind raced. Could it be that Mo Jinnan is someone from the royal family? Could he be the son of Empress Helian?

If that were true, then her fiancé would be a prince.

Xiang Xinyao asked, “Mr. Mo, may I ask who you are exactly?”

Mo Jinnan raised an eyebrow. “Does it really matter?”

“Of course it matters! You said you’re my fiancé, but don’t even know your identity?” Xiang Xinyao replied, her tone firm.

Before Mo Jinnan could answer, Xiang Yanlin, who had a quick tongue, chimed in with a smile, “Little sister, your fiancé is none other than the seventh prince of the current emperor, granted the title of Xian Wang, and he’s also known as our country’s God of War. Since the day he stepped onto the battlefield, he has never suffered a defeat.”

Xiang Xinyao looked at him skeptically. “You’re really a prince?”

“Absolutely, and your entire family can vouch for it,” Mo Jinnan said with a playful grin.

Xiang Xinyao couldn’t help but smirk. “But when I saved you back then, you were so stingy, giving me only two hundred taels of silver and even wanted to take back what was left. Can a prince really be this poor?”

Mo Jinnan looked a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his head, his ears tinged with a slight blush.

“I was really poor back then. All the silver notes I had were used to buy food and medicine for the soldiers. By the time I got back to Bianjing, I only had one hundred taels left,” he explained.

“Oh, I see. Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Xiang Xinyao teased.

“I didn’t want to say it. Back then, you looked like a little beggar—skinny and small, clearly undernourished and poorly dressed. I didn’t have the heart to tell you,” Mo Jinnan replied, glancing at her with a mix of amusement and slight guilt.

Xiang Xinyao chuckled. “Hehe, if I return those two hundred taels to you, will you agree to cancel the engagement?”

Mo Jinnan reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a thick stack of silver notes, handing them to Xiang Xinyao. “How about I give you twenty thousand taels of silver? Can we stop talking about breaking the engagement now?”

Xiang Xinyao pouted. “You think you can buy me back as a wife with twenty thousand taels? Is that how much I’m worth?”

“Of course not. The twenty thousand taels are just to stop you from bringing up the annulment. The dowry will definitely be more than twenty thousand taels, and after we marry, the entire Xian Wang’s manor will be yours, including me,” Mo Jinnan replied with a sly grin.

“Hehe, then I can really just relax,” Xiang Xinyao said, taking the twenty thousand taels of silver. “Fine, I won’t bring it up again, but we need to make one thing clear: unless I’m willing, you can’t force me into marriage.”

“Agreed,” Mo Jinnan said, nodding eagerly.

It wasn’t that he had fallen in love with Xiang Xinyao at this point. By having the engagement, he would have a legitimate excuse to reject all other women.

The most important thing was that he could now officially refuse the women the emperor would try to force on him.

He wasn’t in love with Xiang Xinyao, but he didn’t dislike her either. He was simply curious to know more about her.

A fourteen-year-old girl, still a child, with such impressive medical skills—it didn’t make sense.

And in just half a year, she had changed so much. Not only had she grown taller, but she had also become graceful and elegant.

Her skin was smooth and fair, as though it had been freshly peeled from an egg.

Even if she had shifted from a frugal to a luxurious lifestyle, it was unlikely that she could have transformed so dramatically in just six months. There had to be some secret behind her.