Legend of the Female General

Chapter 10: The Benefits of Being Blind

Silver coins piled high on the table, and someone added their jade pendant to the stack. A greenhorn who was both new to the game and incredibly lucky naturally drew attention. Before long, the place was crowded with onlookers.

"Big."

"Open—"

"Young master, your choice."

"Small."

"Again."

"Open—"

"Again."

"Open—"

"Again."

"Open—"

He Yan's side of the table was now covered in banknotes. Those who had mocked her earlier had long fallen silent. Even a fool could tell she was no novice at this game. Were it not for Letong Manor's sterling reputation, people might have suspected she was colluding with the dealer to cheat outsiders.

The distant sound of the night watchman's drum drifted in. He Yan said, "It's getting late. I should head back."

"Young master," the long-bearded old man smiled, "one last round, shall we? How about a different game?"

He Yan looked up at him. "What do you propose?"

"No more big or small. I can see you're an expert. How about guessing the exact number on the dice?" He pushed all the jewelry and banknotes to the center of the table. "If you win, all this is yours."

He Yan glanced at the pile of banknotes.

She had already won quite a bit and knew this would draw unwanted attention. Back in the army, she'd heard junior officers talk about the dark side of gambling dens and knew a thing or two. She should have quit while she was ahead, but for some reason, He Yun Sheng's longing gaze when he spoke of school flashed through her mind, along with the sight of her own threadbare, faded robe—the only one she owned.

"Alright," she said.

The crowd erupted, the atmosphere suddenly electric.

Guessing big or small was one thing; guessing the exact number was entirely different.

Big or small relied on luck—there were only two possible outcomes. But guessing the number required pinpoint accuracy. A single mistake meant losing, and the odds of winning were slim. Only those truly skilled with dice would attempt it, and dealers had their own tricks.

He Yan pushed all her banknotes forward as well.

If she lost this round, everything she'd won tonight would vanish. But if she won, the He family would have enough for food, clothing, and He Yun Sheng's tuition for the next three to five years.

Seeing this, the onlookers eagerly joined in: "I'm in too!"

"Here's my silver—I'm betting on this brother!"

"No way, I'll take the other side, haha!"

The higher the stakes, the more spectators gathered. The drama of striking it rich or losing everything in a single night was more addictive than the finest theater troupe in the capital.

The long-bearded old man slowly lifted the bowl. The gambling hall fell silent, the only sound the clatter of dice against copper.

He Yan's mind wandered.

Her gambling skills had always been terrible. At least, they had been before she returned to the capital, before she married into the Xu family. Shortly after her wedding, as the newly minted Madam Xu, she had played leaf cards with other noblewomen at banquets—and lost spectacularly every time. Back then, Xu Zhiheng would laugh and say, "You—how can you be so silly?"

It was one of the rare moments he teased her. She thought she had glimpsed tenderness and intimacy in that handsome man, and it delighted her. She had secretly vowed to master the game so she could make him proud at the next banquet.

But before she could properly learn leaf cards, she went blind.Whether it was family banquets or outside gatherings, the Xu family would never allow a blind woman to represent the main branch's mistress. She no longer went out, but the manor was unbearably dull, and since she couldn’t see, she had no choice but to learn to rely on sound.

She wanted to be a blind person who could move freely—someone who didn’t need others’ help even without sight. Stubborn as ever, she began practicing again. First, she trained her hearing, learning to discern shapes from sounds, then gradually moved on to actions. Once she could move around fairly well, she secretly used tree branches from the manor as swords, practicing her swings.

It was during that time that she learned to recognize the sound of dice.

Dice were much simpler than leaf cards, He Yan thought. The more intricate the object, the more it tested one’s hearing. She listened carefully—the subtle differences in sound as each side of the dice landed. She shook the dice in a bamboo cup, poured them onto the table, silently recited the numbers in her mind, then tentatively traced her fingers over them. At first, she was always wrong. But one day, after silently predicting the outcome, she finally smiled when her fingers confirmed it.

She had succeeded.

The Xu family servants whispered about her, saying the madam had gone insane after going blind, shaking a bamboo cup in her room all day. But gradually, they realized that He Yan could manage her daily life—eating, dressing, moving—without anyone’s help. She could accurately identify every servant in the Xu household by their voice and knew the exact placement of every object.

If not for the fact that she was truly blind, she seemed no different from a normal person.

Xu Zhiheng praised her skill, holding her hands in admiration. He Yan was happy, but beneath that happiness lay a faint sense of loss. She didn’t know why she felt this way, but something told her it shouldn’t be like this.

Looking back now, her hearing had already been honed to perfection by then. She had probably detected the indifference and perfunctory tone in Xu Zhiheng’s words, but her emotions made her subconsciously avoid acknowledging it.

He Yan lowered her eyes. Truly... those involved are blind to the truth.

The sound of rolling dice abruptly stopped with a thud as the bowl was overturned onto the table.

One, two—both dice settled.

Everyone turned to He Yan. With her eyes closed, she seemed to return to those days in the Xu household, sitting alone at the table, shaking the dice by herself, uncovering them by herself, tracing her fingers over each side by herself.

Trying to grasp a sliver of light in the darkness.

"Two, five," she said, opening her eyes.

The overturned bowl was lifted, revealing the two dice laid bare before the crowd.

Silence fell first, then, after a moment, someone gasped softly. Soon, exclamations rose one after another. A richly dressed young man closest to He Yan grabbed her arm and exclaimed, "Master! From today onward, you are my teacher! Please accept this disciple’s bow!"

He Yan helplessly pried his hand off her arm.

The bearded old man’s smile stiffened briefly before he stroked his beard and chuckled. "Young master, your skill is remarkable. These silver notes and jewels are all yours." After a pause, he added, "Might I ask for your esteemed name? Would you honor this old man with a cup of tea before you leave?"

He Yan stuffed all the silver notes and jewelry into her robe and politely declined. "An insignificant nobody, not worth mentioning. It’s far too late today—perhaps another time for tea." With that, she swiftly walked past the crowd and out of Letong Manor.

Inside the gambling house, people continued marveling at the earlier game, their chatter resuming. The bearded old man’s smile remained unchanged as he turned and headed upstairs. Someone bowed before him, and he ordered, "Follow him."On the other end, the burly man with a sinister expression cracked his knuckles and waved at the servants behind him before striding out of Letong Manor.

"You think you can just run off after winning my silver? Nothing in this world comes that easy, you fool!"

(End of Chapter)