[{"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-9":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},2270884,4434,"Chapter 9: Your Highness, Please—Third Chapter, Asking for Monthly Votes","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-9",9,"\u003Cp>In the wooden cabin’s room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the flicker of an oil lamp, Xia Mingyu tossed and turned on the hard bed, unable to fall asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thoughts remained trapped in what had happened at dusk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just left like that—Anliya must be terribly disappointed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu held his palm before him, recalling how the girl had diligently cared for him these past days, and felt overwhelming guilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his head and saw a full basket of vivid, glistening red fruits sitting in the corner of the room—gifts from Simp, the man he’d met in the orchard today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The basket of fruit intensified his guilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hand clenched into a tight fist, the knuckles whitening from the strain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I want to help them too!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But right now, I only bring them disaster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If only my identity’s blessing were real—no, strictly speaking, it seems it truly is real, but it’s useless here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Repaying kindness is my principle, Xia Mingyu—think back to the determination you had when you raised your college entrance exam score by two hundred points in the final three months!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu lightly tapped his forehead, trying to force himself to find a solution to this predicament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The village’s crisis stems from failing to pay taxes—that is, two words: no money!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The cause is that damned Klei merchant who swindled the village, leaving the red fruits unsold and unable to pay the agricultural tax.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait—the merchant…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu faintly felt he had found a way to break the deadlock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tap-tap-tap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he sank into thought, the door to the room suddenly knocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, are you asleep?” came Anliya’s soft voice from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, Xia Mingyu felt the girl’s voice trembled slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet.” Thinking of what had happened at dusk, he felt ashamed, and his voice grew naturally lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, may I come in?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course.” Xia Mingyu rose and opened the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when Anliya stepped into the circle of lamplight did he realize she seemed different today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though still wearing the same linen tunic, her golden hair—soft as an autumn wheat field—had clearly just been washed, damp at the ends and carrying a faint, delicate maidenly fragrance that stirred his spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her fair, delicate cheeks flushed a lovely crimson, and her brilliant blue eyes glistened like those of a newborn fawn, gazing at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, Xia Mingyu sensed a subtle allure in her gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was about to ask when he saw the girl slowly unfasten her belt and slip off the tunic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath it was a beautiful blue dress, its light fabric clinging to her graceful curves, the hem swaying like blue bellflowers trembling in morning mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in her worn-out clothes, Anliya had rivaled the top stars of the Blue Planet’s entertainment world; now, with her golden hair and blue dress, she was as beautiful as a fairy stepped from a fairy tale—breathtaking, each movement radiating an indescribable charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Xia Mingyu, who had seen countless beautified internet beauties on his phone, was stunned by the girl’s beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, please take pity on me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Xia Mingyu could react, a warm, soft body rushed into his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So soft, like cotton candy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So hot, like a feverish body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt as if a gentle fawn were licking his face, stirring his blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forcing himself to calm down, Xia Mingyu gripped the girl’s smooth shoulders and gently pushed her away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the lamplight, he saw Anliya clearly now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The once cheerful, open girl now had her ears flushed crimson with shame, her body burning hot, her blue eyes clouded with mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, I offer you my humble body—only ask you to show mercy and save everyone in the village.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, I swear before the gods that from now on I will be your faithful servant, obeying every command, devoting my life to you—washing your clothes, combing your hair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, please!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anliya’s plea trembled with sobs, like a blue bellflower helplessly swaying in the storm, yearning for even a sliver of shelter from a towering tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was no tree—only a blade of grass drifting with the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anliya, calm down,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached out and gently stroked her golden hair, cascading like a waterfall, to soothe her trembling heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I swear by the kingdom that raised me—I will do everything in my power to help you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But my strength is meager, so my help depends on you also striving to find a solution to your own plight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that acceptable, Anliya?” Xia Mingyu asked softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anliya nodded, half-understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though some parts eluded her—like why such a noble prince would speak so humbly—she understood one thing: Xia Mingyu had decided to help her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, the heavy stone on her shoulders instantly lightened, and for the first time in a long while, a sweet smile broke through her tear-stained cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, as agreed, should I remove my clothes myself, or will you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s my first time—please be gentle,” Anliya said, blushing, her gaze toward Xia Mingyu now tender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone she had lived with would be saved; her adoptive father could live his final years in peace; and all she had to give was her body and loyalty—this was the best outcome!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Mingyu: “.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence was tonight’s Cambridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly realized how cruel this world was to commoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cruel enough to make a young girl grateful to a man to whom she offered her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. Wait until I’ve truly succeeded. And just call me Your Highness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Your Highness. Until that day comes, I will prepare myself,” the girl bowed low, kneeling on one knee, her bare back glowing like a white wall in the lamplight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will look forward to it,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not refused outright—like a doctor before life-or-death surgery accepting a family’s red envelope to ease their anxiety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he suspected it was likely a fabricated story, he held the same mindset now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he didn’t want to see such a wonderful girl cry again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who’s still writing at midnight during the New Year? o(╥﹏╥)o\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Folks, during this new book’s launch, monthly votes are the most important metric—please give me some monthly votes~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I won’t ask for follows—because asking won’t help; those who want to read will follow anyway, and those who don’t won’t care no matter what.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1078,"2026-06-19T22:18:43.340Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","18291b7662730d83caeb275e6e30f89e7a571c0c977f3d346990a1b08d3dbd06","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-10","heir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-chapter-8",186,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fheir-to-the-kingdom-of-1-4-billion-citizens-cover.jpg"]