During the Qin Dynasty, he was in charge of the net.

Upon hearing Li Ji's request, the three palace maids turned pale.

Because Li Ji requested Zhao Ji to allow three palace maids in the hall to simultaneously stab him with long swords.

Without a doubt, this is a crazy request, and could potentially result in bloodshed.

Zhao Ji agreed to Li Ji's request with a strange expression.

Lü Buwei stepped aside and silently observed what might happen next.

Soon, three guards ran in from outside the hall.

The three guards left their swords behind and then quickly departed.

When they actually held the long sword and stood in front of Li Ji, the three palace maids couldn't help but feel their legs go weak.

"Xiao Huan, you go first, I'll follow behind you."

"I don't dare either, Xiaoyun, why don't you go first?"

The three palace maids were pushing and shoving each other. Although they were holding long swords, they were not afraid of the person who would be stabbed, but of themselves.

This is not surprising.

Ordinary people are always afraid of seeing blood.

Some people wouldn't even dare to kill livestock like chickens and ducks, let alone a living person standing right in front of them.

Right now, the three palace maids inside the hall were thinking the same thing; they dared not make a move.

However, these were Zhao Ji's orders, and they had no choice but to obey.

The hall, which had been filled with laughter and chatter, was now eerily quiet.

The long sword, gleaming coldly, reflected the images of the three palace maids.

In the end, the three palace maids decided to attack Li Ji at the same time, regardless of who was in the first place.

Since one sword can die anyway, three swords are even less likely to survive, so there's no need to distinguish the order of their deaths.

If that person dies, they can't be blamed; the blame lies with him.

Three trembling longswords were pointed at Li Ji.

Li Ji calmly looked at the three trembling palace maids, and suddenly said softly:

"If you don't kill me, I will kill you all."

Upon hearing this, the three palace maids stared wide-eyed at Li Ji in disbelief.

Li Ji didn't speak again, but simply looked calmly at the three people in front of him.

The next moment, the three palace maids gritted their teeth, gripped their swords with both hands, and without any technique, stabbed at Li Ji together.

The longsword pierced through Li Ji's body.

One pierced through his lower abdomen, another pierced his chest, and yet another pierced diagonally through Li Ji's heart.

Zhao Ji could no longer suppress her surprise and curiosity, and with her fair hands, she parted the flowing plain gauze curtains.

Her face was as smooth as jade, and she appeared to be around thirty years old. Her phoenix eyes were shimmering with autumn water, and at this moment they were filled with astonishment and inquiry.

Ding-dong!

The three longswords landed with a crisp sound.

There was no bloodshed, and no one fell.

Several palace maids stood there, dumbfounded, completely unaware of what had happened.

A fleeting blue light flashed in Li Ji's eyes as he bent down and picked up a longsword from the ground.

The next moment, a flash of sword light appeared, and a line of blood appeared on the neck of a palace maid.

Pfft!

The palace maid who had previously been called Xiao Huan lay in a pool of blood; she died before she even had a chance to feel fear.

The remaining two palace maids turned pale and stumbled as they ran toward Zhao Ji, who was sitting on the phoenix couch.

This series of changes happened so fast that Zhao Ji didn't have time to react.

When Zhao Ji realized that the large patch of blood on the ground was not Li Ji's, but that of a maid in her palace, she was filled with shock, anger, and confusion:

"Since Mr. Li has the ability to remain unharmed even when attacked by swords, the position of commander of the Shadow Guard should naturally belong to him."

"But why did you kill my maid, sir?"

Upon hearing Zhao Ji's question, Li Ji calmly wiped the blood from his longsword and replied:

"This is my second skill: to see through the subtle and hidden, and to uncover treacherous schemes in the shadows."

This person was none other than the scheming individual beside the Empress Dowager.

If the Empress Dowager does not believe me, she can have this palace maid's body searched; there will surely be something unusual there.

So the two palace maids who had just run to Zhao Ji's side were immediately ordered by Zhao Ji to search Xiao Huan's body.

Having no other choice, the two palace maids had to obey.

The two of them trembled as they approached the dead Xiao Huan, bowing their heads and not daring to meet Li Ji's gaze.

The scene they had just witnessed had left them with a deep psychological scar. Their swords had pierced right through the man's body, yet he was not only unharmed but had even managed to kill Xiao Huan with a single blow.

Their feet were stained with Xiao Huan's hot blood. Despite their nausea, they began to search Xiao Huan's body.

A moment later, the palace maid named Xiaoyun suddenly found a brocade handkerchief and a jade bracelet on Xiaohuan's body.

Xiao Yun didn't dare to delay and quickly presented the two items to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji first took the jade bracelet, not noticing anything amiss. However, upon receiving the brocade handkerchief, her expression immediately changed:

"Well, that treacherous little maid, Xiao Huan, dares to contact that old hag Hua Yang behind my back..."

At this point, Zhao Ji stopped abruptly.

After all, there were still outsiders in the hall at this time, and this was not the time to pursue the matter.

But Zhao Ji was already seething with hatred. She thought she had treated Xiao Huan well, but she never expected that this lowly maid was actually one of the old witch Hua Yang's people.

This brocade handkerchief is woven in the Chu style; only the old witch Huayang in the Xianyang Palace would use this kind of fabric.

However, the thought that Xiao Huan was already dead, and that she had been found out by her own people, made Zhao Ji feel a sense of relief.

Li Ji stood quietly in the hall, pondering that the old witch Zhao Ji had just mentioned must be the Empress Dowager Huayang.

Empress Dowager Huayang was the stepmother of the previous King of Qin, Ying Yiren, and the grandmother of the current King of Qin. Her seniority in Xianyang Palace was the highest.

It seems that Empress Dowager Zhao and Empress Dowager Huayang did not get along.

Indeed, although Zhao Ji is the mother of the current King of Qin, she is legally inferior to Empress Dowager Huayang.

At this moment, Zhao Ji came to her senses, handed the brocade handkerchief and jade bracelet to the palace maid, and looked at Li Ji in the hall, saying:

"Mr. Li is indeed skilled; what I just witnessed is truly astounding."

That Xiao Huan did indeed harbor ulterior motives; it's all thanks to you for finding her.

Since that's the case, then it's settled. You will take over as the commander of the Shadow Guard.

From now on, you will have full authority over the palace's secret guards, including their patrols and intelligence gathering.

I will explain things to the King of Qin and his old ministers, one by one.

"But there's one thing you must remember: you command the Shadow Guard, guarding the royal city and protecting me and the Prince of Qin, not taking orders from any court official."

These words were quite explicit. Everyone present, except for the two remaining palace maids, knew perfectly well who the court official Zhao Ji was referring to.

Lü Buwei knew that Zhao Ji was preparing to win over the soon-to-be-appointed commander of the Shadow Guard.

His presence here is superfluous, so Lü Buwei immediately cupped his hands towards Zhao Ji and said:

"Your Majesty, now that the matter of the Shadow Guard has been settled, I shall not linger any longer and take my leave. I hope Your Majesty will take care."

After saying this, Lü Buwei nodded to Li Ji, then turned and left.

Watching Lü Buwei's departing figure, Zhao Ji slowly said:

"Prime Minister Lü is truly busy. He leaves as soon as he finishes his business and doesn't even want to stay a little longer."

Li Ji remained silent upon hearing this, for the Empress Dowager had not offered any words of persuasion to keep him.