[{"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-64":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},2270939,4434,"Chapter 64: Kin-Slaying","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-64",64,"\u003Cp>At dusk, the moonlight was hazy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After three days of sweeping cleanup, the Ore Town was now quieter than ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brothels, once lit all night long, were now completely empty, swallowed by darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the town’s dungeon was packed to capacity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very bottom of the dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, it was damp and icy cold; moss coated the walls, black mud covered the floor, and the air reeked of decay and rot, making one nauseous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the overcrowded upper levels, this level held only two prisoners—Fran Hughes and Eli Hughes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kalen, you beast! How dare you lock your own uncle in prison!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That venomous woman will drag the entire Hughes family into the abyss!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fran, despite three days without water, still gripped the bars and roared with full vigor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, though he was sixty years old, he had long achieved the rank of Extraordinary Knight—going a few days without food was nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he were ten or twenty years younger, he could have smashed the rusted prison door barehanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandpa Fran, can you please stop shouting? I want to sleep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eli, curled up on the straw in the neighboring cell, shivered violently from the cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Raised since childhood outside the castle without noble education, neglected and indulging in lust, he had long since drained his Qi and held only the mortal rank of Knight Apprentice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three days without water, not even a peasant’s black bread to eat, plus the dungeon’s damp chill—his body was now utterly weakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this continued, he wouldn’t last many more days before joining his ungrateful father in death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it! If you hadn’t dared to molest your aunt back then, I might already be the lord!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh,” Fran glared at Eli, who was shivering uncontrollably and clearly running a fever, his expression filled with frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he let out a long sigh and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Eli was the classic example of a lost cause, he still carried Hughes blood and had been raised under Fran’s watch—so some familial affection remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kalen is weak-willed and indecisive—he could never have done something so extreme as imprisoning his uncle and nephew. Only Danielle Marsha could have manipulated him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How come Kalen’s last two wives were both venomous women? Is there some strange blessing on him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calmer now, Fran couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kalen’s previous wife, a maid, had used slander to murder his elder brother and indirectly driven his brother-in-law to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, she died of illness early—but who knew his second wife, the Marsha family’s heiress, was even crueler? Now it seemed she intended to torture even his own uncle to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what is her true motive?” Fran’s mind grew more confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t believe such a cruel woman would act for some vague sense of justice—only for profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet clearing brothels and gangs brought only losses!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brothels were a major source of tax revenue; for traveling merchants, adventurers, bards, and other passersby, only seductive prostitutes could make them willingly empty their purses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of that money eventually became tax revenue flowing into the lord’s coffers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for gangs, they were the nobility’s black gloves—no respectable lord could ever be seen engaging in darkness, even if he secretly relied on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he had supported Eli in unifying the brothels and gangs under his control—outsiders were never as reliable as family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is she afraid her young son is threatened? But even Kalen alone could wipe out the entire territory.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or is her real goal to kill me? But if Haidon Hughes truly carries Hughes blood and possesses the Great Strength Blessing, I would unconditionally support him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fran’s brow furrowed tightly; he pondered long but could not fathom Danielle’s true motive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ran through multiple hypotheses, yet none fit her position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Liyi  could possibly drive Danielle to persuade Kalen to imprison his own uncle and nephew?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap-tap-tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, two footsteps suddenly echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Kalen and Danielle—they entered the dungeon’s lowest level carrying an oil lamp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kalen, stop listening to that venomous woman’s poison! Cease these reckless actions—you’ll drag the entire Black Wolf Domain into ruin!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he saw them, Fran seized the bars and roared at Kalen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle, Auntie, please spare me—I haven’t done anything wrong…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eli, nearly asleep, was jolted awake by the lamp’s light; he knelt on the ground, pleading desperately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene left Kalen with a complex expression—he didn’t know what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You heartless venomous woman! What is your purpose in inciting Kalen to do this?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Kalen remain silent, Fran turned his sharp gaze on Danielle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he died, he must understand—his eyes could not close in ignorance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe, Uncle, why be so angry? This is all for the Hughes family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as she was called a venomous woman to her face, Danielle’s delicate face showed no anger—only a sweet smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bullshit! Closing every brothel and gang, cutting off the Hughes family’s lifelines—how could that possibly benefit the Black Wolf Domain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you been reading too many fairy tales and bards’ stories?!” Fran roared in fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Danielle, unperturbed, stepped to the cell door and whispered softly into Fran’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, Fran’s anger faded, replaced by utter shock—and a flicker of joy—his expression shifting like a chameleon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kalen, did that prince truly promise—if we clear the brothels and gangs and punish the wicked—he will become little Haidon’s godfather?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fran immediately turned to Kalen for confirmation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes… the prince is kind—he would never break his word.” Kalen hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha ha ha ha! After a hundred years, the Hughes family finally has a chance to rise!” Fran threw his head back and laughed like a madman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandpa Fran, you—” Eli stared in shock. Was this the same stern, disciplined man who had raised him since childhood?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Danielle Marsha, I retract my slander and offer you my most sincere apologies and praise—you are unquestionably the wisest and most virtuous wife the Hughes family has had in a hundred years!” Fran lavished praise, his wrinkled face alight with ecstatic joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Danielle merely smiled, saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This old fool had just called her heartless—and now, hearing it would benefit the Hughes family, he changed his tune instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was fine—his presence meant Kalen wouldn’t have to stain his own hands with kin-slaying blood, which might have created a rift between us later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Open the cell door.” As the wild joy faded, Fran took a deep breath and spoke calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Kalen could react, Danielle unlocked Fran’s cell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, before Eli Hughes’s stunned eyes, his Grandpa Fran stepped out, expressionless, and seized his throat with iron fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1106,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5f6f2b83dd37cf2ba655d6a99e8adf2bbfaf32785093c5145d55fe8047d7e9e4","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-65","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-63",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]