How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

The next morning, Liu Yin took Mei Wu out.

As Mei Wu walked through the streets and alleys of the capital with Liu Yin, her expression changed from indifference to curiosity and amazement.

Seeing Liu Yin heading in a certain direction as if with a purpose, she couldn't help but ask, "Miss? Where are you going?"

"It's nothing, I'll just wander around." Liu Yin looked at the bustling market, said nothing, and quickly walked in one direction.

She stopped in a bustling alley. In Mei Wu’s eyes, the alley did not seem small, but it was probably a bit narrow compared to the main avenue of the capital. However, it was even more lively than the main avenue.

There were many stalls on both sides of the alley, selling all kinds of things. In the distance, there was an arched bridge, and people came one after another, walking in a tangled manner.

Liu Yin stood at the entrance of the alley, looking at it, when a scene flashed through her mind...

"Rongrong, let me tell you, Dongqiao Alley has the most delicious things. I'll take you to eat the best guodou in the whole capital. Old Zhang's guodou is full of soup with every bite, so fragrant and rich that it's unforgettable." A refined face appeared in her memory.

She felt as if she were watching a boy secretly run away with his beloved younger sister to try his favorite food, like presenting a treasure to his beloved.

“Miss…” Mei Wu interrupted Liu Yin, who was lost in thought, with some hesitation.

Liu Yin came to her senses, shook her head slightly, said nothing, and led Mei Wu into the alley.

But even after walking to the end of the street, she still couldn't find the old Zhang's family that made glutinous rice cakes as she remembered. She looked at a sesame seed cake shop at the end of the street, and couldn't help but go up and buy two before asking the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, is there an old Zhang's family that makes glutinous rice cakes on this street?"

The pancake shop was run by an elderly couple. The woman looked at Liu Yin, a little girl, with some curiosity, but kindly replied, "Young lady, the Zhang family moved away ten years ago."

“They moved away…” Liu Yin felt a strange, inexplicable feeling.

"Yes, young lady, what brings you to the Zhang family?" the woman asked curiously.

"No, I just heard their cooking is good, so I came to try it." Liu Yin smiled.

"That's right. The Zhang family's craftsmanship is superb. It's just a pity that Old Zhang died and his sons were useless. They squandered the shop and left in disgrace." The woman smiled knowingly before saying regretfully, "Speaking of which, more than ten years ago, a young man often came to Old Zhang's shop. He loved to hold a delicate little girl. Later, he stopped coming, and not long after, the Zhang family had a misfortune."

Upon hearing the other person mention a young man, Liu Yin's heart stirred. Just as she was about to ask more, she saw that quite a few people had come to buy sesame cakes. The shopkeeper smiled apologetically and went to get busy, so Liu Yin had to give up.

“Miss…” Mei Wu was really worried. She didn’t understand why the girl always seemed to have a sense of familiarity with this alley, but she felt that the girl’s expression made her sad.

"It's alright, let's go." Liu Yin took a deep breath and continued on her way to her original destination.

Upon arriving at her destination, Liu Yin stared blankly at the scene before her, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh.

Before them stood a dilapidated mansion, surrounded by overgrown weeds and devoid of any human presence. The mansion itself had been magnificent, occupying an entire street, but now it was nothing but ruins.

Liu Yin couldn't help but take a few steps forward, just in time to see the plaque of the mansion in front of her—"Anning Prince's Mansion".

“Miss…” Mei Wu looked around warily, tugged at Liu Yin’s sleeve, and whispered a reminder, “There are people watching you nearby.”

Liu Yin snapped out of her daze, wiped away her tears, and immediately turned to walk back with Mei Wu in her arms. However, she still glanced back at them one last time...

"Phew, where was that just now, young lady?" Mei Wuzhi asked with a sigh of relief after following her for quite a distance.

"The Prince of Anning's residence," Liu Yin replied calmly.

"The Prince of Anning's Mansion?" Mei Wu's eyes widened in surprise.

She had heard of the Prince of Anning's Mansion. She had heard that the Prince of Anning was an exceptionally good prince who not only managed his fiefdom very well but also had a reputation for loving his people like his own children. At the time, many people thought he would be the next emperor. However, they never expected that he would end up rebelling and having his property confiscated.

Thinking of this, she instantly turned pale. She thought of Liu Yin's familiarity with the alley and the expression on Liu Yin's face when she saw the Prince's Mansion. She had a guess in her mind and tightly grasped Liu Yin's hand.

"Hiss!" Liu Yin cried out as the hand grabbed her, touching her own broken wound.

Mei Wu quickly took her hand and looked at it. She immediately saw the injury on her palm and became even more certain of her guess. She didn't say anything, but just lowered her head and took out the medicine she carried with her and sprinkled some on her.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Liu Yin knew all too well that Mei Wu, who was usually silent, was not only sensitive but also extremely intelligent.

“No matter what, a master is a master. I only know that you saved me.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “Besides, if it’s true, then it should be even more so. My hometown is Yancheng.”

The mention of Yancheng startled Liu Yin. She quickly realized that Yancheng was the fiefdom of the Prince of Anning. She looked at Mei Wu in surprise: "Mei Wu..."

"Master, please take good care of yourself." Mei Wu didn't let her say any more, and led her step by step from the quiet alley to the bustling market.

It wasn't until they returned to their residence that Liu Yin was forced by Mei Wu to rest.

Seeing the strange behavior of the mistress and servant, Liu Xuemei couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Liu Yin raised her hand to show her the wound, which was now wrapped in a strip of cloth: "Look, I accidentally cut myself, and she's angry about it."

Liu Xuemei was worried when she saw that she was injured, but she didn't think about it anymore, since she didn't find anything strange about it.

"It's alright. Have the girls in the backyard chosen their scores yet?" Liu Yin didn't talk about the wound anymore, only mentioning today's arrangements.

“We’ve chosen, and we were just talking about it. We’re going to practice this afternoon, but the girl’s hands…” Liu Xuemei looked at her hands with concern.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Liu Yin waved her hand and said nothing more.

Just as she finished lunch and was about to take the people to practice, she heard someone coming from the front yard.

"Everyone, an imperial decree has arrived. In seven days, you will lead the young ladies to the palace to meet the Emperor." A servant from the Li family rushed in, gave a few instructions, and then hurried away.

Liu Yin frowned, somewhat puzzled. After all, the news of Li Linfeng being expelled from the palace had already spread throughout the streets and alleys. She had heard people discussing it today. She thought that the meeting with the emperor would take a long time. How could things have changed so quickly?

Time was short, so she didn't have time to think it over carefully. She quickly walked to the backyard and said, "Ladies, the date for meeting the Emperor has been set. In addition to the style and lyrics that I set for you in Huaicheng, the new lyrics and music added today are for you to perform in groups. Please practice hard these next few days. If you practice well, you will benefit. If you don't practice well, there's nothing I can do. You'll just have to sit on the sidelines during your group performance."

"We understand, everyone." Everyone knew the situation was urgent, so they didn't say much and picked up their pipa to start practicing.

Based on the girls' styles, Liu Yin rearranged them into six groups, each with a completely different performance style: charming, alluring, aloof, elegant, pure, and dashing. After finalizing the group, she had them practice one group at a time and corrected their performances.

The busyness lasted until evening, and as Liu Yin lay in bed, her thoughts drifted to the abandoned Anning Prince's Mansion she had seen that day.

She touched her chest and couldn't help but say, "Why am I so sad when it's your memory..."