[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens":3,"chapter-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-15":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 Billion Citizens",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2270890,4434,"Chapter 15: The Greedy Merchant","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-15",15,"\u003Cp>After hearing Sir Solin question Mills, Xia Mingyu slightly relaxed and signaled Boge Chu to quickly hide among the crowd, preventing his hunter tag from being seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could sense that this seemingly stern Sir Solin still sided with the villagers of Guolan Village—or rather, did not wish to hand over the coins that had been paid as taxes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who asserts, who proves.” This was a principle universally valid since ancient times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as Mills could not prove those taxes were his stolen coins, the matter would undoubtedly be dropped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This—” Mills frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir Knight, what if I cannot prove it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then leave my lord’s territory immediately. Out of respect for your profession, I shall not hold you accountable for delaying tax collection.” Sir Solin said coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“O Supreme Creator, open your eyes and see how cruel this world is to your children!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Mills immediately pounded his chest and stamped his feet in grief—but a flicker of cunning passed through his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir Knight, please inspect the taxes you’ve collected—do they all bear a faint scratch on the reverse, just like this copper Sol?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having satisfied his inner urge to perform, Mills pulled a copper Sol from his robe and handed it to Sir Solin with full confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every truly skilled Kle merchant marks their coins with a unique identifier—even a copper Sol—just as the Kle ancestor, the great merchant Franken, recounted in his timeless classic, *Franken’s Traveling Merchant Diary*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That ancestor’s coins were stolen by vile thieves, yet both lord and knight sided with the thieves; ultimately, the ancestor proved ownership through his unique mark, reclaimed his coins, and punished the wicked thief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coins do not recognize people—but Kle coins do. —Franken\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sir Solin took the copper Sol and examined it closely; indeed, he found a nearly imperceptible, minuscule scratch on its reverse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brow tightened at the sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You, bring me the money bags.” Sir Solin ordered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The attendants quickly carried the previously collected money bags from the cart to the knight’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sir Solin reached into the bag and grabbed a handful of coins, inspecting them carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This one has a scratch, this one too, this one doesn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, Sir Solin fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his inspection, over half the coins in the bag bore scratches identical to the one on Mills’s copper Sol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant the taxes were very likely the coins stolen from Mills by the villagers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep down, he did not wish for trouble in his territory, nor did he like this Kle trader named Mills—especially since his profession was the infamous “Liar Merchant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But lying was a merchant’s privilege, not a knight’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These taxes are indeed mostly your stolen coins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, Sir Solin suddenly spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At once, the villagers’ expressions turned fearful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One villager tried to speak up, claiming the coins were a gift from a noble prince—but others swiftly clamped their hand over his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For before this, Chief Luo Bote had ordered that the prince’s identity must not be revealed; anyone who disclosed even a hint of the prince’s presence would have their entire family expelled from the village to wander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this cruel world, forcing a farmer to wander was tantamount to a death sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu, who had been watching silently from the crowd, nearly stood up in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never imagined anyone would be so idle as to mark even a copper coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, from a rogue merchant’s perspective, this fellow was quite competent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heroes of the world are as numerous as fish crossing a river—how many there are!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out of nowhere, Xia Mingyu’s mind flashed with this phrase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahahaha! I told you these coins were mine!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mills laughed loudly and eagerly reached both hands toward the money bag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Shhh!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of cold steel—Sir Solin drew his sword and blocked Mills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir Knight, what are you—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The merchant recoiled several steps from the gleaming blade, his face filled with alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If your coins were stolen, go demand them from the thief!” Sir Solin said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These are taxes I collected for my lord. If you dare lay a hand on them, prepare to face my blade.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest assured, it is swift enough to grant your enemy a painless death.” Sir Solin lightly tapped the blade with his finger; the sword emitted a clear, ringing chime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing the knight’s unmasked, icy killing intent, Mills’s face turned ashen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized: even if he proved the coins were his, he could never get them back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For they had already been submitted as “taxes.” As a knight, Sir Solin would never return “taxes” to him—that would betray his duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it, damn it! This bastard knight has no honor—how do I make up for my loss?” Mills cursed inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These starving farmers can’t pay me back! Unless they sell—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this thought, a gleam of calculation flashed in Mills’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Farmers had no money—but they weren’t worthless. And this village held more than just farmers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He vaguely recalled the archer who shot at him—the man’s Zhiyejiahu  was Hunter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mills swiftly scanned the crowd, his gaze sweeping like a net across every frightened face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Boge Chu, under Xia Mingyu’s signal, had already crouched low and hidden among the people; Mills’s search ended in vain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just farmers, nothing but farmers—was that Hunter hired by them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mills fumed. With Sir Solin present, he couldn’t sell all the villagers into slavery—but taking just a few farmers wouldn’t even cover the cost of transport to the Slave Capital!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, his peripheral vision caught sight of a girl in the crowd—and he could not look away, staring at her like a wolf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a beautiful girl!” Mills silently marveled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her golden hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, each strand kissed by sunlight, shimmering with soft radiance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her deep blue eyes, like a clear sky reflected on a lake, seemed to pierce the soul yet brimmed with purity and innocence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though clad only in a coarse linen tunic, the faintly exposed snow-white skin and rose-petal lips were enough to make any man drool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1020,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d4f679c10e61a39f6cc4330ff86cc2a8b81a41998d68d2ee332d60d5375ee028","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-16","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-14",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]