Legend of the Female General

Chapter 97: What You Should Not See

He Yan did not sit up immediately. She clutched her head and groaned, though her mind was occupied with other matters.

Yuan Baozhen had indeed come to test her—first, to probe how she had detected the issue with the wine, and second, to confirm whether she was truly blind. This man was meticulous, even going so far as to have Ding Yi place a stool deliberately to observe her reaction. Had He Yan responded even slightly amiss, this master-servant pair would surely have grown suspicious.

Her extraordinary hearing had allowed her to detect Ding Yi’s movements early on, and knowing Yuan Baozhen had not left immediately, she had deliberately played along, performing the exact act Yuan Baozhen wanted to see. But while Yuan Baozhen was testing her, wasn’t she also testing him in return?

They were clearly deeply connected, yet he insisted they were merely acquaintances. If they were merely acquaintances, He Rufei’s servant Ding Yi would never have been following him here. There was indeed something wrong with that cup of wine, but what puzzled He Yan most was the role He Rufei played in all this. Was he conspiring with Yuan Baozhen to harm Xiao Jue? Or was He Rufei the mastermind behind it all? Or were they both working for someone else?

Next, she would have to tail Ding Yi to figure out exactly what these two were up to.

The noise outside had ceased, so He Yan exaggerated her groans of pain. Movement sounded behind her—it was Fei Nu. "What’s wrong?" he asked.

"I hit my head just now," He Yan replied, reaching out blindly for him. "Brother Fei Nu, help me up, please. I twisted my ankle."

Fei Nu obliged, supporting her as she settled onto the couch. The cloth covering her eyes meant Fei Nu couldn’t discern her emotions, nor could he guess what she was thinking.

In truth, her act hadn’t just been for Yuan Baozhen—it had also been for Fei Nu.

So focused on testing He Yan, Yuan Baozhen and Ding Yi had failed to notice that Fei Nu had been standing at the door the entire time, listening to everything inside. They hadn’t noticed, but He Yan had. Fei Nu had only gone to clear the dishes—why had he taken so long? It was a case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

For some reason, He Yan had always felt that Xiao Jue and Fei Nu didn’t trust her. That in itself wasn’t unusual—someone with no prior connection to them wouldn’t earn their trust immediately. But she had a keen sense that Xiao Jue’s wariness went beyond mere distrust—there was caution and suspicion as well.

He Yan couldn’t fathom why. As far as she could tell, she hadn’t done anything suspicious. And now that she was here, she had no past interactions with Yuan Baozhen to speak of, yet she was still under scrutiny.

Well, let them be suspicious. One act had fooled two people. He Yan said, "Brother Fei Nu, where were you earlier? That Censor Yuan came and sat for a while, but you were nowhere to be seen."

Fei Nu sidestepped her question. "How’s your head?"

He Yan touched it gingerly. "There’s a huge lump. Who knows when it’ll go down." She sighed heavily. "This really was a banquet with hidden daggers. My little brother was smart not to come. This was far more dangerous than being forced into marriage."

If Cheng Li Su had been here instead, who knew what state he’d be in now.

"Rest for a while," Fei Nu said, his tone unreadable. "I’ll be right outside if you need anything."

And with that, he left again.He Yan lay on the couch, a cloth strip covering her eyes. Fei Nu couldn't discern her expression, and likewise, she couldn't see his reaction—though she imagined it was equally impassive.

She wondered when Xiao Jue would return.

...

By the time Xiao Jue returned, it was already deep into the night.

That day, He Yan and Fei Nu had stayed in the Sun residence without doing anything. The food and wine Sun Xiangfu sent over were all tested for poison with silver needles. Since He Yan couldn't see, she simply slept the day away in the room, while Fei Nu stood guard at the door the entire time.

When Xiao Jue returned, Fei Nu, who had been sleeping on the couch, immediately woke and approached him. "Young Master," he said.

Xiao Jue motioned for him to follow into the inner chamber. Fei Nu glanced at He Yan on the couch—under the dim lamplight, she was sound asleep.

Fei Nu followed Xiao Jue inside, unaware that the "sleeping" youth on the couch was lightly tapping the bedding beneath her with idle fingers. Of course, He Yan wasn't asleep. Having slept all day, how could she possibly sleep more at night? She wasn’t some village pig. Clearly, the Second Young Master Xiao had something confidential to discuss with his trusted subordinate, and Fei Nu would likely report everything that had happened that day to this Commander.

She had no intention of eavesdropping on their private conversation. Xiao Jue wasn’t like Yuan Baozhen—he had real skill. If she were caught, the trouble would far outweigh any benefit. Still, she could guess what Fei Nu would tell him. She felt confident that her act today had fooled Fei Nu.

As for whether it could fool Xiao Jue—that, she didn’t know.

Inside the inner chamber, the lamp was lit.

Xiao Jue placed his sword on the table and took a seat in the chair.

"Young Master, Yuan Baozhen came today," Fei Nu reported.

Xiao Jue lifted his gaze. "What did he want?"

"It seemed he came specifically for He Yan. He exchanged a few words with her." Fei Nu recounted the conversation between Yuan Baozhen and He Yan verbatim before adding, "Yuan Baozhen appeared to be testing her."

Xiao Jue pondered for a moment. "What do you think?"

"From He Yan's responses, it seemed she didn’t recognize Yuan Baozhen. There were no obvious flaws, though it’s possible they were both acting. But overall, the suspicions surrounding He Yan can be temporarily dismissed."

"Dismissed?" Xiao Jue smirked. "Fei Nu, the liar in our room has even fooled you."

Fei Nu was taken aback, confused.

"Have you forgotten? When He Yan competed with Wang Ba in crossbow shooting, she once hit a flying bird blindfolded. Do you really think someone with such sharp hearing wouldn’t notice Yuan Baozhen’s attendant placing a stool in front of her?"

"Young Master means..."

"She could have easily avoided the stool, yet she chose to fall—first deceiving Yuan Baozhen, then deceiving you." Xiao Jue spoke casually. "This person is an excellent liar."

To ordinary people, a blind person was supposed to be clumsy, flustered, and utterly helpless without assistance—pitiable. Yuan Baozhen and Fei Nu were ordinary people, so they naturally thought the same. Seeing He Yan stumble and struggle fit their image of a blind person perfectly. But He Yan was no ordinary blind person. Even with her eyes covered, she could outshoot others in crossbow practice.

Yuan Baozhen had never seen He Yan shoot blindfolded, but Fei Nu had. Yet even he had overlooked this fact."Deceiving you was secondary. What he most wanted to evade was Yuan Baozhen, otherwise he wouldn't have come up with such an absurd excuse as there being flying insects in the wine."

Flying insects in the wine? How was that possible? It wasn't summer now, and the Sun residence paid special attention to this, hanging wormwood sachets everywhere to repel insects. For an insect to fly into a wine cup—He Yan really had quite the imagination.

"Young Master, is he really one of Yuan Baozhen's people?" Fei Nu was also somewhat confused. If he were one of Yuan Baozhen's men, why would he test and doubt them like this?

"He doesn't seem like it, but we can't say for sure he isn't." There were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table, likely arranged deliberately by Sun Xiangfu. Though he himself had no fondness for such things, he enjoyed pretending to be cultured.

Xiao Jue picked up a brush and wrote a few characters on the paper. His handwriting was elegant yet vigorous, strikingly beautiful on the page, as eye-catching as the man himself.

"I need you to deliver a letter to Lin Shuanghe."

"Lin Shuanghe?" Fei Nu's usually calm face finally showed surprise. "Young Master, didn't you forbid Lin Shuanghe from coming to Liang Province?" Suddenly realizing something, he said incredulously, "Could it be... because of He Yan?"

The ink dried quickly in the breeze. Xiao Jue folded the letter into an envelope and said softly, "It's because of him, but not entirely."

Fei Nu didn't press further. After carefully securing the letter, he tiptoed toward the door. Seeing this, Xiao Jue let out a derisive laugh.

"Why are you being so cautious? The people outside have been awake for a while now," he remarked.

"Young Master?" Fei Nu froze.

"Never mind. When it comes to deception, you're no match for him either." Xiao Jue shook his head lazily. "Anyway, he wouldn't dare come in."

Fei Nu stood there for a moment before finally leaving. After he was gone, Xiao Jue adjusted the wick of the lamp. In the flickering light, his pupils gleamed with an intense brightness.

"Xu Jingfu..."

The night swallowed his whisper.

...

When He Yan woke up, Xiao Jue was already gone again.

He had been unusually busy these past two days. By the time He Yan was awake, he had already left, and by the time he returned, she was already asleep. They hadn't even crossed paths. She guessed that whatever Xiao Jue was doing must be related to the incident at the Sun residence banquet, but since she couldn't follow him, all she could do was wait idly.

But idle waiting wasn't something she enjoyed. Fortunately, by late afternoon, Fei Nu also had business to attend to outside. Before leaving, he repeatedly warned her to stay in the room and avoid trouble.

He Yan nodded in agreement.

In her opinion, the Sun residence wasn't as perilous as Fei Nu made it out to be. The events of the banquet had shown that the assassins' target was Xiao Jue alone. With Xiao Jue gone, the residence was seventy percent safer. As for the remaining thirty percent—they might not even be a match for her.

Early that morning, He Yan had removed the cloth bandage from her eyes, mainly because it had been used for two days and needed replacing. However, the physician who had previously attended to her had been frightened off by Xiao Jue, leaving no one to make her a new bandage.

Though the bandage was gone, after two days, everyone in the residence was convinced He Yan was blind and treated her accordingly—except He Yan herself.

Removing the bandage suddenly made the daylight seem too bright, still somewhat uncomfortable. Maintaining a composed expression yesterday morning when she unwrapped it in front of Fei Nu had been a struggle—she had desperately wanted to tear up from the glare.

The truth was, He Yan had never been "blind" at all.That night at the banquet, the servant who had rushed forward under Ding Yi's command had indeed thrown something like medicinal powder. She had blocked it, but at the time, her eyes did feel some pain.

After all, she had once been blind before, so she was unusually tense and sensitive about her eyes. Instinctively, she felt her vision blur and feared she might go blind again. But upon calming down, she realized she had actually dodged it. Late that night, when no one was around, He Yan secretly untied the cloth bandage—she could still see the light from the lanterns outside.

It had just been a false alarm caused by excessive tension. She had intended to explain the next day, but when morning came, she changed her mind.

A blind person posed little threat. Playing the role of someone harmless would make it easier to get close to Yuan Baozhen than being the "sharp-witted Young Master Cheng who could detect poison in wine."

So when she removed the bandage in front of Fei Nu, He Yan showed no signs of abnormality. She had spent a long time being blind before, and she could perfectly mimic all the reactions of a blind person without leaving any room for doubt.

But she hadn’t expected Yuan Baozhen to be so cautious—he even came to confirm whether she was truly blind. This left He Yan in an even more difficult position, yet it also strengthened her conviction that there was definitely something suspicious between He Rufei, Ding Yi, and Yuan Baozhen. He Rufei must have been involved in the plot against Xiao Jue. Though she didn’t understand what grudge He Rufei held against Xiao Jue, the enemy of her enemy was her ally. For now, she and Xiao Jue were on the same side.

She needed to find out what Yuan Baozhen and Ding Yi were up to.

He Yan tied up her hair and quietly slipped out.

Everyone knew that the current Young Master Cheng was blind and stayed in his room all day except for bathroom breaks. Moreover, with everyone in the Sun residence on edge these days and Sun Xiangfu busy clearing his own name, no one was paying attention to He Yan. Fortunately, her memory for directions was excellent—she had already familiarized herself with most of the Sun residence’s layout on her first day there.

However, He Yan didn’t know where Yuan Baozhen was staying. Just as she was struggling with this, she spotted someone hurrying through the garden ahead—none other than Ding Yi.

Perfect timing! He Yan silently cheered and quickly followed. She moved swiftly and was skilled at finding hiding spots. Of course, the Sun residence’s extravagant design, filled with artificial rockeries and potted plants, provided plenty of cover. She made her way unnoticed until Ding Yi stopped in front of a room and entered.

For some reason, the room Yuan Baozhen was staying in was also far from the main hall—almost remote—and there were hardly any people around. By autumn, the evenings in Liang Province were already dark. He Yan assessed the situation and climbed onto the roof.

She was small and light, and the roof’s upturned eaves, intricate carvings, and stonework allowed her to blend in seamlessly. After carefully searching for a while, she finally found a gap—perhaps caused by rain or hail—where a fragile crystal tile had cracked slightly, leaving just enough space to peek through. She pressed her face close and listened to the conversation inside.

Inside the room, Ding Yi entered.

"Well?" Yuan Baozhen asked.

Ding Yi shook his head. "We lost him."

"You weren’t spotted, were you?""That wasn't the case," Ding Yi hesitated. "I didn't dare get too close, afraid he'd notice me. He left early today, heading east of the city. I searched nearby afterward but couldn't find him."

Yuan Baozhen looked unsettled. "What exactly is Xiao Jue up to? Despite the incident at the Sun residence, he insists on staying there and goes out every day—who knows what he's doing. Something feels off to me."

He Yan grew suspicious upon hearing this. Was Yuan Baozhen having Ding Yi tail Xiao Jue?

"Has the matter at the yamen been handled?" Yuan Baozhen asked.

"Yingyue and the others are all dead—no evidence remains. The mole in the residence is also dead. Since we warned Sun Xiangfu in advance, there shouldn't be any issues." Ding Yi paused. "What I still don't understand is how Cheng Lisu knew about the mole's actions at the time. He was the one who discovered the poisoned wine."

"Do you think he's suspicious? But you saw him yesterday—he's blind, just an ordinary young man."

"Even so... something feels off." Ding Yi couldn't quite put his finger on it. The boy should indeed be blind; otherwise, his act wouldn't have been so convincing. The servants in the residence also mentioned he stayed in his room all day, guarded by Xiao Jue's men. By all appearances, he was just a helpless rich boy. Yet Ding Yi remembered the glance Cheng Lisu had cast his way during the banquet.

It had been fleeting, as if casually glancing at someone nearby. But for a moment, Ding Yi had sensed a flash of shock and anger in the boy's eyes. When he looked again, the boy had already turned away, making it seem like it had been his imagination.

But was it really just his imagination?

Their heated discussion left He Yan equally stunned. "Yingyue is dead," "no evidence," "warned Sun Xiangfu in advance"—this confirmed that Yuan Baozhen was indeed behind the assassination attempt on Xiao Jue. Sun Xiangfu might have even assisted.

If Xiao Jue continued staying here, wouldn't that just invite further attempts on his life?

As she pondered this, she heard Yuan Baozhen ask, "Has Brother He sent you any letters recently?"

This "Brother He," He Yan thought, was almost certainly referring to He Rufei.

"No. Before leaving, our master instructed me that this mission must succeed," Ding Yi replied. "If we fail, we won't be able to answer to Minister Xu."

Minister Xu?

He Yan's mind raced. This implied that He Rufei had ordered Ding Yi to assassinate Xiao Jue to satisfy "Minister Xu." In other words, was He Rufei working for Minister Xu? But who was Minister Xu? She knew of the current imperial minister, Xu Jingfu, but wasn't sure if he was the "Minister Xu" Ding Yi mentioned.

"We've already failed," Yuan Baozhen said, half-angry, half-despairing. "I didn't expect Xiao Jue to be so difficult. And now he suspects me... I don't know if we'll get another chance."

"Xiao Jue is indeed troublesome, but he has that blind nephew," Ding Yi said. "Since the boy is blind, useless, and practically a fool, I think we can use him."

"What do you have in mind?" Yuan Baozhen asked.

"Don't forget what I used to do," Ding Yi replied. "I have my ways..."

Before he could finish, a faint "creak" sounded overhead, and a small patch of green fell down. Ding Yi's expression changed. "Who's there?" He leaped out in pursuit.Under the moonlight, a figure darted past with the swiftness of a swallow, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.

He Yan inwardly groaned. Sun Xiangfu, with his pretentious refinement, had even used emerald-glazed tiles for his roof—beautiful to look at, but terribly fragile. Even someone as slight as her could accidentally break them just by lying on top. What kind of logic was that? He Yan suspected Sun Xiangfu might be playing the fool to deceive others, using these tiles precisely so no one could eavesdrop from the rooftop. If it were an ordinary man, he’d probably fall through the moment he settled in.

In the distance, Ding Yi was still in hot pursuit, but for some reason, he hadn’t called for the Sun household’s servants to catch the intruder. Perhaps he had his own guilty conscience to hide. Relying on her familiarity with the area, He Yan dodged and weaved through the shadows, her mind still replaying the conversation she had overheard.

Yuan Baozhen had come to Liang Province, Ding Yi had come to Liang Province, and He Rufei was in Shuo Jing—all for one purpose: to assassinate Xiao Jue. And all three of them had to report to "Xu Xiang." Now, with Xiao Jue alive and well and their assassins wiped out, Yuan Baozhen was unwilling to give up and planned to try again. Worse still, Ding Yi had his eyes on her—the "useless blind girl." They intended to use her, a blind person, to murder Xiao Jue.

After some thought, He Yan concluded that when one person used another, it usually boiled down to three tactics: turning them into a traitor, taking them hostage, or making them an unwitting weapon. Cheng Lisu and Xiao Jue were uncle and nephew, so Yuan Baozhen probably wouldn’t consider turning him. That left the other two options—taking He Yan hostage. But first, she didn’t believe Ding Yi could overpower her, and second, she wasn’t actually Cheng Lisu. Xiao Jue likely wouldn’t do something as foolish as "surrendering for his nephew’s sake."

As for the third option—using her as an unwitting weapon—they had overlooked the most crucial point: He Yan wasn’t blind at all, and she had been wary of Ding Yi from the start.

While mulling this over, He Yan caught sight of her own residence. The lights were on inside—Fei Nu must have already returned. She patted herself down, realizing she had left the blindfold strips in the room. The thought of having to put on an act for Fei Nu gave her a headache.

Afraid Ding Yi might catch up, she leaped forward and slipped into the house with lightning speed. But the moment she turned around, she nearly choked on her own saliva.

Inside, a wooden bathtub stood filled with steaming water. Xiao Jue sat within it—a vision of beauty, his jade-like skin and delicate bones bathed in the moonlight that slipped through the window cracks, casting a cold, ethereal glow over his raven hair. His shoulder blades were exquisitely shaped, and for a fleeting moment, He Yan’s thoughts wandered. Back at Xianchang Academy, she had never seen him without his outer robes. Most military men were rugged and coarse; Xu Zhiheng might have been considered refined, but Xiao Jue was different—both elegant and powerful, his slender waist especially alluring. Anyone, man or woman, would surely marvel at the sight.

So it wasn’t just his face that was extraordinary—even his body was unlike an ordinary man’s. No wonder he was called the "Jade-Faced Commander." The title was well-deserved.

The swirling mist made it hard to discern his expression, but it probably wasn’t a happy one. Xiao Jue clearly hadn’t expected anyone to barge in at this moment. He stood abruptly, the water splashing crisply.

He Yan: "..."This was it. Whether she should have seen it or not, He Yan had seen everything. At this moment, she cursed herself vehemently in her heart—why had she worn a blindfold every other day when going out, only to skip it today? Or better yet, how wonderful it would be if she were truly blind.

The Second Young Master Xiao swiftly grabbed a robe from the nearby rack and draped it over himself, glaring at her coldly.

The room seemed to grow several degrees colder.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the young man in front of him spread his hands and clumsily push the door shut. His eyes were calm and unreadable, seemingly widening even more, yet reflecting nothing. He asked, "Who... who is it?"

"Hah." Second Young Master Xiao laughed coldly at this poor attempt at acting.

(End of Chapter)