Chapter 350

He was full of worries, his mind filled with the shadow of Ying Su.

Since this rebellious son forced him to abdicate, he had done many things.

Every single thing was puzzling at the beginning, but at the end, it made people feel it was absolutely correct.

He said he would destroy the Xiongnu, and he really did; he said he would solve the noble issue, and he really did.

Now he has come up with an imperial examination; what is he trying to do?

Ying Zheng was very curious.

If it were in the past, he would definitely think that the imperial examination was not feasible.

The reason was simple: those eligible to participate in the examination were all people with money and leisure, and their composition was basically that of scholar-officials and nobles.

And there were only so many nobles and scholar-officials; if there were any particularly outstanding ones among them, they would have been discovered long ago, and one could just recommend them directly; was there any need for an examination?

203. The Murder Case in Pingyang City

Didn't the emperors of Great Qin for generations select talent through recommendations?

People like Li Si and Shang Yang did not go through any examinations.

Also, just look at the people under Ying Su himself; starting from Li Li Yuanba, as well as Zhuge Liang and Xiao He, which of these fierce generals was discovered through an examination?

So there was no need for an examination at all!

However, Ying Zheng’s thoughts had now changed.

Although he couldn't figure out what the use of the imperial examination was, he believed that Ying Su must have his reasons for doing so.

There was no other reason, just because all of Ying Su’s previous decisions were eventually proven to be correct!

In the palace, three people stood before Ying Su.

One was dressed in white like snow, one was thin and small, and the other was of medium build with a slightly round face, and the two mustaches above his mouth were exactly the same as his eyebrows.

These three were the fierce generals Ying Su had just drawn from the system.

Lu Lu Xiaofeng, Ximen Ximen Chuixue, and Sikong Sikong Zhaixing!

The appearance of these three made Ying Su both surprised and happy.

Last time he drew Lu Lu Zhishen and Qiao Feng as personal bodyguards; he didn't expect to draw martial arts experts this time.

Looking at these people in front of him, Ying Su very much wanted to have Ximen Ximen Chuixue give Lu Lu Xiaofeng a sword strike, wanting to see if Lu Lu Xiaofeng’s "Spirit Rhinoceros Finger" could catch the Sword God’s sword!

But in the end, he suppressed this thought.

He would feel heartache if either of them got hurt.

"You all stay in the palace for now, and I will arrange work for you in a few days," Ying Su said.

"Yes!"

Lu Lu Xiaofeng and the others replied in unison.

Ying Su already had the two great experts Qiao Feng and Lu Lu Zhishen as bodyguards by his side.

Besides, it wasn't appropriate for Lu Lu Xiaofeng and the others to be bodyguards.

Letting them serve in the army didn't seem appropriate either.

So Ying Su planned to arrange for them to do things after a while.

Anyway, for him, the more talent, the better.

No matter what kind of talent, they could be used sooner or later.

Pingyang City, at night.

Although it was not late at night, there were no people on the streets at this hour.

Lanterns hung at the entrances of some shops along the street, the dim light shining on the bluestone road.

It had just rained a little, the ground was a bit slippery, and the air was very fresh.

A young master, supported by his butler, was swaying as he walked toward the carriage by the side of the road.

If the shopkeeper hadn't been closing, he wouldn't have been willing to go home.

Arriving at the side of the carriage, the butler lifted the curtain, preparing to help the young master up.

At this moment, a cold light flashed, and the young master’s body trembled.

Then, a black shadow was seen darting out from the carriage, quickly disappearing into the night.

The butler was stunned.

He felt the young master collapsing to the ground, and only then did he realize that a life had been lost.

Reaching out to touch the young master’s body, it was wet and hot—it was blood!

"Murder... help!" the butler shouted.

The shouting carried very far into the night.

Many people nearby heard it.

After a while, the tavern door opened.

Several shop assistants walked over cautiously to check.

But by this time, the killer had already left, and the young master who had been stabbed was already dead.

After another while, the nearby patrol team heard the news and rushed over.

After listening to the butler’s account, the patrol team immediately pursued in the direction the black-clad person had fled.

By the next day, the entire Pingyang City knew about the murder.

The murdered young master was from a wealthy family; although they couldn't be ranked in Pingyang, they could be called a second-rate family.

The murder of a young master from such a family could be called a major event.

The Pingyang Commandant immediately ordered an investigation.

But more than ten days passed, and no valuable clues were obtained; instead, it made Pingyang full of panic.

Because various rumors were flying everywhere; some said it was killed by Young Master Xu’s love rival, and others said it was the Xu family’s enemies coming for revenge.

Some even said it was because Young Master Xu was preparing to participate in the imperial examination, so he was killed!

Because those underground forces opposing Ying Su wanted to sabotage the imperial examination, so whoever dared to participate would be killed!

Precisely because there were too many rumors, the nobles didn't know if the killer would come after them.

In Pingyang City now, basically no one dared to go out at night.

And the number of patrol teams on the streets had also doubled.

The events in Pingyang City soon reached Xianyang.

The murder of a young master was not worth the Emperor’s personal inquiry, but if it involved the imperial examination, it was different.

The imperial examination was a major event strongly promoted by Ying Su.

Whoever dared to sabotage the imperial examination was going against Ying Su, and going against Great Qin!

In the great hall, Ying Su mentioned the Pingyang City incident, then swept his gaze over the ministers: "Ministers, the matter in Pingyang City has not been investigated yet, and it is currently uncertain whether it is related to the imperial examination."

"However, as long as it has anything to do with the imperial examination, it will not be tolerated; it must be thoroughly investigated to the end!"

"Tell me, how should we investigate this?"

Ying Su handed the difficult problem to the ministers.

In fact, he already had a preliminary idea in his mind.

The reason he still let the ministers come up with ideas was to see the level of the ministers.

"Your Majesty, the incident in Pingyang City cannot be separated from the Pingyang Commandant. Ten days have passed since the incident, and he still hasn't been able to investigate it; this is his dereliction of duty! I suggest setting a deadline for the Pingyang Commandant to solve the case, otherwise, we will hold him accountable!"

A minister said.

"We will talk about accountability later; right now, it is because the Pingyang Commandant himself cannot solve the case that we need to take action," Ying Su said.

"Your Majesty, this matter may not necessarily be related to the imperial examination; I believe this is a smoke bomb deliberately set by the killer to cover up his true motive!" another minister said.

"Hmm, there is such a possibility!" Ying Su nodded: "But this is only one possibility; how do we verify it?"

"This... I do not know!" the minister said.

"It doesn't matter, if you have any other ideas, feel free to say them; it doesn't matter if you are wrong," Ying Su stated generously.

Seeing Ying Su express this, the great hall immediately became lively.

Many ministers put forward their own ideas.

Some of the ideas sounded quite reliable.

"Two Prime Ministers, do you have any ideas?" Ying Su asked, seeing that Zhuge Liang and Xiao He had remained silent.

"Your Majesty, I do not know much about solving cases; I can only say, please let Your Majesty entrust this case to a suitable person to handle."