Jiang Ning entered the Gold Jade Hall intending to find Zhao Instructor, but upon entering, she realized she had underestimated the situation.
From the outside, the Gold Jade Hall appeared to have just a small door, but inside it encompassed seven or eight interconnected shops, with an area roughly the size of a football field.
The hall had two levels. The ground floor was the main hall, with seven or eight large gambling tables arranged from left to right, each surrounded by people. The second floor had a courtyard design, with more than ten small compartments separated by screens along the curved railing. People upstairs enjoyed snacks and tea while having a clear view of the events unfolding in the main hall below.
What caught Jiang Ning's attention most, however, was an enormous couplet hanging from the second floor to the first.
The first line read: "From small bets to great wealth and glory;"
The second line read: "From nothing to everything, ascending to heaven in one step."
The horizontal scroll above read: "It's all about timing and fate."
This couplet was indeed fitting, Jiang Ning thought, as it captured the gamblers' mentality perfectly.
However, the Gold Jade Hall was larger than Jiang Ning had imagined. She stood in place for quite a while, her gaze sweeping back and forth across the hall several times, but she couldn't find Zhao Instructor.
"Miss, why are you just standing there? Come and play a few rounds!" came Houzi's voice from behind. Jiang Ning was inclined to ignore him, but suddenly he raised his hands above his head, clapped loudly, and announced in a booming voice, "Hey, gentlemen! A young lady has come to our establishment, and she's quite wealthy – she's got a whole tael of silver to spend! It's her first time here, so let's all be gentlemen and make sure she has an enjoyable experience!"
Despite his scrawny appearance, Houzi had an exceptionally loud voice. His announcement cut through the bustling atmosphere of the hall, ensuring that everyone absorbed in their gambling heard every word he said.
A wealthy young lady entering a gambling hall was indeed a rare occurrence. Dozens of eyes turned to stare at Jiang Ning, each person brimming with curiosity and intrigue. Some even whistled at her.
Jiang Ning stood calmly in place, discreetly observing several men who slowly emerged from the shadows.
One, two, three, four, five, six – a total of six men, each dressed like Houzi in black fitted clothing with their hair tied up, presenting a neat and agile appearance.
They were the hall's hired muscle.
Jiang Ning easily guessed their identities and understood that leaving this place directly wasn't realistic, especially for someone who had entered with silver.
Very well, she thought, let's gamble then.
The woman who had turned Jiang Ning into Assassin N was a master of gambling, and she had personally taught Jiang Ning. Even if Jiang Ning lacked natural talent and couldn't master that woman's almost supernatural abilities, she was more than capable of handling situations like this.
The ancient gambling halls were far less sophisticated than modern casinos. In high-tech modern casinos, there were countless intricate and diverse games, but in the Gold Jade Hall, Jiang Ning only saw a few: dice, domino cards, fan-tan, and roulette.
Among these, dice games were the most popular due to their simplicity and directness, spawning several variations with different betting odds, such as big or small, odd or even, specific triples, holding dice, and betting on specific numbers.
Jiang Ning walked straight to the table playing big or small with dice.
Houzi eagerly approached her, "Miss, would you like to exchange your silver for copper coins? That way you can play longer, instead of losing it all in one go."
"No need," Jiang Ning replied, not wanting to bother. She placed the tael of silver on the table and asked the dealer, "How do we play?"
The crowd fell silent for a moment, staring at the silver tael. Then someone weighed their copper coins in their hand and remarked with a click of the tongue, "Now that's a wealthy customer!"
"I wonder which family's young lady she is, to be so generous?" another person questioned curiously.
Someone else objected, "What young lady? Look at her clothes – does she look like a young lady to you? I think she's just a wastrel, gambling away some man's hard-earned money. Who knows what she's really up to..."
"Maybe she's a young lady in disguise," another suggested. "Look, she's even covering her face. She's probably afraid of being recognized."
"Now that you mention it, it's possible. Let me think, whose daughter does she resemble..."
Surrounded by a crowd of people pointing and speculating, Jiang Ning remained indifferent, not even bothering to raise an eyebrow.
The dealer was a shrewd-looking middle-aged man. No one knew his real name, but everyone in the Gold Jade Hall called him "Old Yu."
Hearing Jiang Ning ask about the rules, Old Yu chuckled and explained, "It's simple. I shake the dice, and everyone guesses. There are three dice, and if the sum of the points is ten or above, it's 'big'; otherwise, it's 'small.' Those who guess correctly split the losers' money according to their bets, and then we, the house, take one-fifth of the winners' earnings. Miss, do you understand?"
One-fifth – meaning that for every five coins won, one went to the house. Quite a steep cut.
"I understand. Start shaking," Jiang Ning said calmly.
"Alright!" Old Yu lifted the dice cup cover, revealing three dice inside. "Everyone, get ready!"
With that, Old Yu covered the cup again, grasped it with both hands, and began shaking vigorously.
"Clack!" "Clack!" "Clack!"
The hall instantly fell silent. Everyone held their breath, listening intently to the crisp sound of dice colliding inside the cup. Several people even closed their eyes, tilting their heads to focus on the sound.
"Thud!" Old Yu slammed the cup down on the table and calmly announced, "Place your bets, everyone!"
The usually impatient gamblers took their time, each weighing their copper coins and glancing sideways at Jiang Ning, waiting for her to bet.
Jiang Ning didn't mind. With a "clank," she placed her silver tael on "big."
"Miss, are you betting it all?" Old Yu asked, unsure.
Jiang Ning raised her eyes to look directly at him. "As you can see."
A wave of snickers rippled through the crowd, and then the others began placing their bets. Most people, eyeing Jiang Ning's silver tael, chose to bet on "small," while a few followed Jiang Ning's lead and bet on "big."
Once everyone had placed their bets, Old Yu shouted, "I'm opening it now!" and slowly reached for the dice cup cover.
"Small!" "Small!" "Small!"
The crowd started chanting, each shout louder than the last, as if their voices could influence the outcome. The few who had bet with Jiang Ning were shouting "Big!" but their voices were completely drowned out by the majority.
Old Yu took his time, letting the crowd chant as he touched the dice cup cover at an excruciatingly slow pace. Then, taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Open!"
The cup was lifted, revealing three dice lying quietly inside. Everyone craned their necks to look: "Three, four, four – eleven points. Big!"
Most people had lost. A chorus of sighs and groans echoed through the hall, while the winners grinned from ear to ear as they eyed the pile of money.
Old Yu distributed the winnings according to the bets. Jiang Ning, having bet the most, won the most. After the house took its cut, she had won one hundred and three copper coins in this round.
"The miss has quite the lucky hand – a win right off the bat! Would you like to continue?" Old Yu asked with a smile as he handed Jiang Ning her winnings.
"Let's keep playing then," Jiang Ning replied.
She tucked the copper coins into her clothes, but left the silver tael on the table as her next bet.