[{"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-53":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},2270928,4434,"Chapter 53: 1409670292 National Kingdom Heir","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-53",53,"\u003Cp>Outside the Red Rose Brothel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My identity must not be revealed for now—do not spread it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu instructed the women who had seen his identity blessing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, I swear by the gods that if any of us reveals your identity, we shall all spend our lives forever as prostitutes.” They swore in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was the harshest curse a woman could make to become a prostitute for life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was truly hellish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap-tap-tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Sergeant Jonah led a group of soldiers out of the Red Rose Brothel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They dragged three terrified men and carried a heavy chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, as ordered, I’ve brought out everyone still alive from the brothel. The corpses are piled inside for the corpse-bearers to collect later. We also found a small amount of coin—surely it’s what you accidentally lost inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jonah’s face was plastered with a smile, his rugged features practically carved with the words “flattery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are all of them people from the brothel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu asked the women behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, My Lord,” one woman replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then kill them all,” Xia Mingyu said coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, the three captured men instantly turned pale with terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, spare me! I have a wife and children!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I—I never did anything wrong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They begged frantically, but the soldiers quickly gagged them and dragged them away to be executed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they couldn’t dirty the eyes of such a high-ranking noble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, the two on the sides are enforcers, but the man in the middle is the Red Rose’s florist—he truly never did anything wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, one woman hesitantly spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, My Lord, he once brought me medicine for my wounds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve seen him constantly bullied by the other two enforcers!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The red roses he cultivated were beautiful—I sometimes felt better just by looking at them when I had nothing left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several women pleaded for his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Release the one in the middle. Execute the rest,” Xia Mingyu agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was no murderer—only after witnessing that hellish scene did he wish only for the guilty to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, thank you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rescued florist bowed his head wildly to the women, tears streaming down his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never imagined that a single act of compassion would make him the sole survivor of the entire Red Rose Brothel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Open the chest,” Sergeant Jonah ordered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two soldiers opened the chest carried out from the brothel, revealing a dazzling silver glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the hypnotic shimmer of hundreds of silver sols piled together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sight made the surrounding soldiers swallow hard, their eyes burning with greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, please accept these coins you lost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jonah glanced reluctantly at the coins in the chest, then stepped forward to bow respectfully before Xia Mingyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he longed to snatch the chest and run, as town sergeant he knew what he could take—and what he couldn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how good the money, you needed life to spend it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder brothels have never been banned throughout history—what insane profits!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu stared at the chest filled with silver coins and sighed inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remembered that the entire year’s tax revenue from Guolan Village was only twenty-one silver sols.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet just this one brothel held hundreds of silver sols—imagine how much it earned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu grabbed a handful of silver coins from the chest and distributed them to the women behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One silver sol each; the homeless women received two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was returning what was theirs—not because he couldn’t give more, but because too much money would bring danger to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Send the rest of the money to Kallen,\" Xia Mingyu said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sergeant Jonah stared blankly for a long moment before realizing Kallen was the lord’s name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, My Lord!” Jonah bowed sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just called the lord by his name!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sergeant screamed silently in his mind—he was now certain this black-haired youth was a figure of status even above the lord himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, his lord was the famously arrogant “Howling Wolf”—how could he tolerate someone beneath him addressing him by name?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, assign guards to escort these women home. For those without homes who remain in Stone Town, I do not wish to hear any bad news about them in the future—or else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke the last words, Xia Mingyu’s tone carried a hint of threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew that frightening the sergeant a little more now would make life easier for Wu Li and the others later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, My Lord! I’ll protect them as if they were my own mother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sergeant shouted loudly, utterly ignoring the stunned stares of his men behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man was ruthless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Prepare a carriage. Take us back to Black Wolf Keep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dusk approached; misty twilight painted the horizon, where occasional birds flew home, their wings slicing the sky like scissors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A black carriage raced past, wheels crunching over gravel with a creaking sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu leaned his head against the hard carriage wall, the impact giving him a dull ache at the back of his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a hastily acquired ordinary carriage—nowhere near as luxurious as the one Kallen had sent to fetch him, with its soft sofa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, are you well?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Boge watched his listless master with concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since resolving the Red Rose Brothel matter and boarding the carriage, Xia Mingyu had remained this way—drained, like a candle burned to its end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” Xia Mingyu shook his head, signaling his attendant to relax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But… Boge, is the entire Sosia Kingdom like Black Wolf Domain?” Xia Mingyu asked hesitantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you thinking? That’s impossible,” Boge exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xia Mingyu breathed a slight sigh of relief—so the horrors of the Red Rose Brothel were likely an isolated case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Other regions of the kingdom are far worse than Black Wolf Domain!” Boge continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Kallen is already known as a benevolent lord, and Black Wolf Domain has the lowest taxes in the entire southern kingdom. You didn’t know, did you? In the domain where I used to live, they taxed you just for breathing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boge was venting indignantly, but seeing Xia Mingyu’s face grow darker, he wisely fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My Lord, try thinking of something happy—like how your identity blessing has advanced. Surely you’ve gained an incredible ability?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu, lost in gloom, froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, your identity blessing has advanced—you didn’t know? Oh, I forgot—you can’t see your own blessing without the Reflection.” Boge awkwardly scratched his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Water, Frost Rune.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu quickly drew two runes and layered them to cast the spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of frost spreading—clear ice formed on the carriage floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu looked up instantly: the long string of white text above his head had turned emerald green—“1409670292 National Kingdom Heir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From 1.4 billion to a more specific number?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu’s heart jolted—and at once, a flood of information flowed into his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single spark can start a prairie fire: You may issue a call across the world, drawing those who share your will to you across space and time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who says we have no armor? Let us share the same robe: You may change the identity blessing of one sentient being to become your comrade. They will awaken a unique, personal boon based on their potential and will. You may borrow their boon with their permission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dear readers, please vote for monthly tickets—this is the final week on the new book chart. Help me reach fifth place. o(╥﹏╥)o\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1278,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","11ff19b973757f0362bebce02a33dff451a78e6a8ac8a0cbaf28bc99e8e539d7","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-54","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-52",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]