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

If a newly appointed minister tries to make a bet with the king, will the king agree?

If a subject resigns on his first day in office, is it the subject's fault or the king's fault?

When Li Ji's wager was proposed, the relationship between the subject and the monarch began to change.

Because Ying Zheng had already agreed to the bet.

From this moment on, the two were no longer simply in a relationship of ruler and subject, but rather in a relationship of gamblers.

Now that the bet has been made and the stakes have been determined, all that remains is to place the bet.

As the invited party, Ying Zheng naturally had the right to place his bet first.

But is this bet really that simple?

A thoughtful look flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes. A faint competitive spirit intertwined with his innate caution and suspicion, ultimately coalescing into a single sentence from his lips:

"Since things have come to this point, I will take a gamble with Commander Li."

The first to enter the palace to protect the emperor were the palace guards on duty outside.

The Palace Guards were responsible for the defense of the palace and were the most visible defensive force of the Xianyang Palace.

This category is further subdivided into officials and guards.

The palace guards were close to the king and could accompany him on his travels. They were all sons of nobles and their numbers usually numbered around a thousand.

The guards were stationed at various palace gates, city walls, and pavilions within Xianyang Palace, forming one of the main defensive forces of Xianyang Palace, numbering around ten thousand.

The "palace guards" that Ying Zheng mentioned actually referred to the palace attendants who served as his personal guards. He could have simply said "attendants," but since he was placing a bet, he would naturally choose the version with the higher probability of winning.

After speaking, Ying Zheng's gaze fell on Li Ji, waiting for his reaction.

When he placed his bet first and chose Gong Langwei, victory was almost a foregone conclusion.

The reason he continued the betting was simply to see what the newly appointed Commander Li's true intentions were.

Li Ji had long anticipated that Ying Zheng would most likely choose the palace guards.

Because the palace guards were on duty outside the palace, less than a hundred steps away from the library, they could rush to protect the emperor at any time if there was any disturbance inside the palace.

From this perspective, his loss is almost inevitable.

However, he did not come with the intention of resigning from his position as commander of the Shadow Guard. This position was not only obtained for him by Lü Buwei, but also at the request of the leader of the Luo Wang.

If this wasn't a position chosen arbitrarily by the leader of the Luo Wang organization, then it can be inferred that the leader of the Luo Wang organization needs him to have this identity in order to complete the mission.

Resigning from this position at this time could very likely lead to him sabotaging the mission assigned to him by the leader of the Luo Wang organization.

Therefore, Li Ji also wanted to win this bet.

Li Ji looked up at Ying Zheng, his tone calm and resolute, and placed his bet:

"Since Your Majesty has chosen the Palace Guard, I will choose the Shadow Guard."

"Oh?"

A hint of doubt flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes. He knew that apart from Commander Li, none of the Shadow Guards were currently by his side.

The Shadow Guards are currently all outside the second line of defense, while the Palace Guards guarding outside the palace are the closest first line of defense to him.

For example, while he was reading books in the side hall's library, the palace guards were outside the hall, separated by only one door, while the shadow guards would be in a pavilion, separated by three or more doors.

The reason for this situation is that Ying Zheng never truly trusted the Shadow Guards.

His father, Ying Yiren, died young. Although the cause of death cannot be attributed to the Shadow Guards, it can still be said that they failed to protect him properly.

This is why Ying Zheng always felt a distance from this force, which should have been one of the most trusted confidants of the King of Qin.

This also resulted in the fact that, after Ying Zheng ascended the throne, no leader was ever selected for the Shadow Guard.

Now, the Shadow Guards are showing signs of being marginalized. They should have been at the first line of defense for the King of Qin, but have now retreated to the second line of defense.

Although they are only separated by one line of defense, the distance between them is more than twice as great.

That is why Ying Zheng was surprised by Li Ji's choice.

In Ying Zheng's mind, the first to arrive would undoubtedly be the palace attendants, followed by the palace maids and eunuchs serving him, and only then would the Shadow Guards possibly arrive.

If Commander Li had chosen a palace maid or a eunuch, he might have had a slight chance of winning.

Thinking of this, Ying Zheng asked:

"Is Commander Li's choice of the Shadow Guard due to a lack of understanding of the Shadow Guard as it is today, or is it due to overconfidence in the Shadow Guard?"

If Commander Li hasn't had time to fully understand the Shadow Guards, I can give him another chance to choose.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Your Majesty, but to change your mind at the last minute after the bets have already been placed is tantamount to breaking the bet agreement."

Ying Zheng gave Li Ji a deep look, then raised his hand and summoned two palace maids.

When the two palace maids heard Ying Zheng's request, their bodies stiffened abruptly, and their faces turned somewhat pale.

Neither of them were newly arrived palace maids, and they understood that the word "assassin" could, at best, violate palace rules, and at worst, disturb the inner palace—something that two lowly palace maids like them could not bear.

Thinking of the possible consequences, the two palace maids lowered their heads, trembling, and dared not utter a sound for a long time.

Ying Zheng glanced at the two hesitant men, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, before speaking:

"Just do as I say, and I'll explain afterwards."

The palace maid dared not disobey the king's command. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and raised her voice tremblingly. A sharp scream suddenly pierced the air in the hall:

"There's an assassin!"

"Your Majesty has been assassinated! Help!"

The urgent shouts echoed throughout the palace, penetrating the palace gates and reaching the long corridors outside the palace.

Suddenly, the sounds of hurried, chaotic footsteps of armored boots, the clatter of weapons being drawn, and the stern shouts of palace guards filled the air outside the hall. These sounds mingled together and then drew closer.

In just over ten breaths, a group of palace guards clad in armor and wielding long spears and sharp blades passed through the side hall and surged into the study deep within it.

Upon entering the library, the palace guards swept their sharp gazes across the entire space, their eyes landing on King Ying Zheng of Qin, several palace maids with terrified expressions, and Li Ji, who stood silently in the library.

In an instant, the palace guards split into two groups, one of whom tightly protected Ying Zheng, who was sitting behind the desk, in the center.

The other group surrounded Li Ji, who was very close to Ying Zheng.

As for the other palace maids, they were selectively ignored by the palace guards.

In their eyes, the most threatening person in the hall at this moment was this long-haired man dressed in a red and black robe, whose identity was unknown.

The man showed no panic upon seeing them; his expression remained calm, which was clearly abnormal under such circumstances.

The atmosphere inside the hall was extremely tense, with all the palace guards on high alert.

Ying Zheng observed the entire process with a cold eye, quietly taking in all the actions of the palace guards.

The result was obvious: he won.

Ying Zheng glanced calmly at the guards in front of him and explained:

"You need not be alarmed. I have not been assassinated. I have recently been checking the reactions of the guards in various parts of the palace."

"You acted swiftly to protect the emperor and performed your duties faithfully; you deserve a reward."