[{"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-68":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},2270943,4434,"Chapter 68: Goodbye Robert","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>Mine Town.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the execution ended, it was dusk again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orange-gold light intertwined with pale purple twilight, forming a sky as beautiful as a painting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After expressing their gratitude to Kallen for a long time, the villagers gradually dispersed, and Xia Mingyu prepared to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, a man claims to be the village chief of Guolan Village and wishes to meet you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Black Wolf Castle’s steward, Old Xiao En, walked up to him and bowed respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Robert? Did he come to watch the execution too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring him over,” Xia Mingyu said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mingyu, may the gods bless you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Robert began greeting him while bending down to kneel, but Xia Mingyu stopped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to kneel, Mr. Robert. It’s been a long time—what brings you to me?” Xia Mingyu gripped his arm and gently helped him up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mingyu, I’ve come to ask about the well-being of Anliya and Boge. They’re still young; I worry they may not serve you well enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Robert’s face showed hesitation, a flicker of concern crossing his deeply lined features.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry—they’ve both fulfilled their duties as maid and attendant excellently. I should thank you for raising these two pillars of mine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu smiled slightly and patted his shoulder lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held deep respect for this diligent old village chief, who gave him the feeling of a model worker devoted selflessly to his post.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s good,” Robert sighed deeply, as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mingyu, the Lord’s execution of so many villains and his grain donations to the villages—surely they were your orders, weren’t they?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu gave a slight nod, acknowledging it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mingyu, you truly seem like the sun and the god of justice incarnate—wherever you go, you pour your glory selflessly upon mortals. May the gods bless you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having confirmed his suspicions, Robert’s expression betrayed his excitement; had Xia Mingyu not stopped him, he would have kissed the toe of his shoe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, Robert, what is your farmer’s ability?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Xia Mingyu, gazing at the white Farmer Blessing above his head, suddenly wondered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My ability makes plowing easier. Others have gained the ability to drive pests away from fruit trees,” Robert replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A useful ability. What about an Exalted-rank farmer?” Xia Mingyu mused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That, Master Mingyu—I’ve never seen an Exalted-rank farmer. But my ancestors said they could increase crop yields,” Robert said hesitantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Increase crop yields?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So if there were enough Exalted-rank farmers, even without agricultural improvements, could they produce enough grain to feed everyone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xia Mingyu fell into deep thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had discovered something profoundly strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Food is life. For any nation, the most vital and critical matter is ensuring its food supply—like provinces designated as granaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In ancient times, this even gave rise to the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, placing farmers just below the literati.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a world blessed by divine protection, where sentient beings are favored by heaven and earth, shouldn’t a competent king prioritize agriculture and systematically cultivate Exalted-rank farmers to meet the nation’s food needs?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is the threshold for farmers to ascend to Exalted rank too harsh, with returns not matching investment—or was the intention never to feed the people at all?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu suddenly snapped awake. He felt the latter possibility was high—but it was too absurd. How could a king deliberately let his own people starve?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Mingyu, night is falling—I must return to the village early. Please tell Anliya I’m well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Robert bowed respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No message for Boge?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need. He’d only find me a nuisance,” Robert smiled warmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“May the gods bless you, Master Mingyu. I’ll pray for you every day.” He bowed deeply, then turned and faded into the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evening fell; the night sky lowered, stars scattered like sesame seeds on a pie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Library.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several candles on the walls burned fiercely; the stacked bookshelves glowed with a yellowed light, strangely warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, is it delicious?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beautiful maiden with golden hair and blue eyes knelt on the floor, gazing tenderly at the black-haired youth lying on her lap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her delicate, snow-white hands, she took a bright red fruit from a nearby basket and offered it to his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Delicious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu ate the fruit bit by bit, then lightly nipped her slender finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a beautiful hand—who could resist the urge to bite?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, it tickles…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the warm sensation and slight pain on her fingertip, the maiden’s cheeks flushed red, and she let out a bell-like laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she did not withdraw her finger; instead, she pressed her thighs together to give him a better knee-pillow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sesee.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, lying on a hammock with two snow-white feet propped up, Elise hid her face behind a thick book, blushing inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, I made some venison-and-pepper pies specially for you. Would you like to try?” Anliya said softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Highness’s maid, no one in the castle dared assign her any task—even if she volunteered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, every day in the castle, she spent her time studying cookbooks in the library and learning to prepare all kinds of delicacies, to soothe His Highness’s ever-hungry stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for your kindness, but I truly have no appetite,” Xia Mingyu said, recalling the scene he had ignited today, his mouth twitching as he refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ugh—these past days, he’d either killed or burned things. He hadn’t wanted meat for days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see,” Anliya’s face flickered with disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t because her hard-made food was rejected—it was because she worried about Xia Mingyu’s health. Long-term vegetarianism was terrible for the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today, I met Robert. I told him you and Boge have been diligent. He was delighted, and asked me to tell you he’s well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the maiden’s sadness, Xia Mingyu gently stroked her snow-white neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing news of her foster father, Anliya’s lips curled slightly—but her expression quickly turned anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak freely,” Xia Mingyu glanced at her, calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He now knew Anliya so well he could guess her thoughts from her expression alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, Boge has been deeply troubled these days. Would you consider formally appointing him as your attendant?” Anliya ventured carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, attendants came in two kinds: nominal attendants, and those whose status blessing was changed by an Exalted noble using their extremely limited appointment slots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The latter formed a bond with their lord far stronger than the former—like Knight Solin and Viscount Hughes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see,” Xia Mingyu mused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder Boge had been looking at him these past days with unspoken words, his face flushed like a monkey’s rear—he’d thought it was a side effect of the Hunter blessing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Appointing Boge as attendant on his blessing must mean the “Comrade-in-Arms” ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was curious what unique boon Boge’s potential and will would awaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tomorrow, I will formally appoint him as my attendant,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1157,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e45bd854bf43e39d166cbb17bd787ae30676f0bb053467a407c029f424bd7c1e","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-69","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-67",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]