How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Mei Wu, take this letter to the Shen family's bookstore in the capital. Tell them it's a new manuscript I've given to the Shen family. The specific requirements are all in the letter. Let the Shen family head make the arrangements himself." Liu Yin forced her bloodshot eyes open and handed Mei Wu a thick manuscript and letter that she had prepared overnight.

"Yes, miss." Mei Wu picked up the things, then said with some concern, "Miss, are you really alright?"

"It's alright, go ahead and do it," Liu Yin said with a smile, trying to reassure her.

After seeing the person off, Liu Yin summoned Liu Xuemei.

When Liu Xuemei entered and saw her haggard appearance, she was startled: "Miss, what happened to you?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I didn't sleep well last night because I was thinking about meeting the emperor." Liu Yin pulled the other person back and comforted her with a reason she had prepared beforehand.

"You scared me to death! You need to rest well, young lady. It's still a few days before you can meet the Emperor." Liu Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help looking at her reproachfully.

"I understand," Liu Yin replied with a smile, before continuing, "Have you prepared the things I asked you to prepare the other day?"

"It's all ready. As the girl said, I specifically went to several stores to buy it so no one would notice," Liu Xuemei readily agreed.

“Okay…” Liu Yin thought for a moment before continuing, “Bring the things over first, I need them.”

"Okay, sure." Liu Xuemei replied and left.

Before long, she brought the items back. After taking them, Liu Yin began to classify the medicinal herbs according to her own ideas, grinding and mixing them as needed.

"Girl, what's going on?" Liu Xuemei asked, completely bewildered.

"My face is disfigured, so it might not be appropriate to face the Emperor. I'll prepare something to cover it up." Liu Yin ground the medicinal herbs in her hands without looking up at all.

"I see." Liu Xuemei didn't think much of it. Seeing Liu Yin's tired face, she felt a little sorry for her. "Miss, tell me how to arrange things. You should go and rest first. You have to teach this afternoon."

Liu Yin yawned, thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.

After she woke up from her nap, it was time to eat. After eating and finishing her lessons, she picked up the materials that Liu Xuemei had prepared and started working on them in front of the mirror.

Mei Wu and Liu Xuemei watched with curiosity as she fiddled with this and that, messing around with her pretty and delicate face after removing her makeup.

Liu Xuemei was almost about to stop her: "Oh my, such a beautiful face... Miss, you shouldn't bother with all that. I think you look fine with makeup all the time..."

"Cosmetics aren't always reliable. I don't know if they'll make me change my appearance again when I go to the palace. If that happens, my face will be in trouble..." Liu Yin turned her head as soon as she finished speaking meaningfully.

"Miss...?" Mei Wu and Liu Xuemei looked at the person in front of them in surprise.

"How is it?" Liu Yin asked with a smile.

"How did you do that?" Liu Xuemei was the first to react. She walked forward with an amazed look and carefully examined Liu Yin's face, which had been altered.

"Some tips, how similar do you think it is to your previous appearance?" Liu Yin looked at the mirror. The mirror now was a bronze mirror. Ancient bronze mirrors were not as blurry as one might imagine. The mirror, after careful polishing, was clearly visible, but it always had a yellowish tint, making her feel like she couldn't see clearly.

"Well, although she's still a girl, she doesn't quite seem like one." Liu Xuemei frowned, slowly organizing her thoughts.

"That's enough." Liu Yin smiled and turned to remove her makeup.

Although Liu Xuemei was puzzled by Liu Yin's elaborate scheme, Mei Wu was very clear that if the girl was that little princess, her appearance would inevitably resemble that of the royal family. If she were discovered, it would be disastrous. She had been worried about this, but now that she saw that Liu Yin had a solution, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"This method is practically the legendary art of disguise! Can you teach me, young lady?" Liu Xuemei exclaimed in amazement as she watched Liu Yin remove her makeup, her eyes filled with longing.

"As long as this method works, that's fine." Mei Wu interrupted Liu Xuemei's incessant praise, met Liu Yin's eyes in the mirror, and nodded. She knew that the young lady would understand her thoughts, and she understood the young lady's thoughts as well.

"Alright..." Liu Xuemei looked at the sky and then compromised, "Alright, young lady, you should get some rest."

With the help of the two men, Liu Yin tidied up the things on the table and carefully packed them up before watching them leave. However, her face immediately turned cold after they left.

Looking at her own beautiful phoenix eyes reflected in the mirror, she seemed to see her mother, who also had phoenix eyes, just like her.

“Yuan Mingyou once said that the Empress and I look alike.” Liu Yin walked to the dressing table and carefully stroked her eyes in the mirror.

"Back then, to impersonate Liu Jianniang, I hid my scars, but I couldn't hide this face. I wonder if this ruthless emperor will still recognize it..."

At this moment, in a wealthy and secluded mansion in the capital, an elderly woman dressed in fine clothes was thinking about what her daughter-in-law had told her during the day, and for a while she couldn't fall asleep.

"Who are you... why do you look so much like her..." the old woman murmured.

Inside the magnificent palace, the emperor, high above, listened to the reports from his secret guards below, his eyes flashing with endless malice.

"You mean, someone went to the old residence of Prince Anning today?" The emperor looked at the kneeling guards below, his expression unreadable.

"It is Your Majesty, and it is two women, one mistress and one servant." The guard lowered his head, ignoring the coldness in the emperor's voice, and cautiously reported the day's discovery.

"Who is it?" The emperor still had that unfathomable look on his face.

"We've checked. It's Liu Jianniang who was supposed to perform at the palace. Judging from the situation, she must have accidentally wandered in."

"Liu Jianniang..." The emperor tapped his fingers on the dragon throne, "Has it been investigated?"

"I've checked it." With that, the guard knelt forward a few steps and held the documents high.

The emperor gestured to Zhang, the eunuch serving beside him, to bring over the thick stack of documents. After carefully reviewing them, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, I understand."

After everyone had left, Eunuch Zhang concealed the panic in his eyes and brewed a cup of hot tea for the emperor.

The emperor casually handed the documents to the other party. Eunuch Zhang took them knowingly and put them into the burning incense burner. He watched the documents burn to ashes, concealing the emotions in his eyes, before pretending nothing was wrong and standing beside the emperor.

"Issue a decree." The emperor closed his eyes as if he were thinking about something, and after a long while, he suddenly spoke, "Summon those who have come to the palace to perform to enter the palace two days later."

"Yes." Although he didn't know what the emperor was planning, Eunuch Zhang had a bad feeling. He left the hall as if nothing had happened.

He headed towards the Secretariat, pondering his next move. Once there, he carried out the Emperor's decree and then turned and left, ignoring the furrowed brows of the crowd.

One of the minor officials glanced at the departing Eunuch Zhang, dipped his finger in ink from the table, and wrote a note on his undergarment. Once he had a reason to leave, he tore the note off and tossed it to another eunuch. And so, the note traveled to its intended destination…

In a desolate corner of the palace, the little princess looked at her loyal maidservant and asked, "Aunt Ran, isn't the day approaching? Are everything prepared?"

"Rest assured, Your Highness, everything has been arranged." The maid's eyes were extremely firm.

"Hmm." The little princess was relieved. "This time, we are very grateful for the people left behind by Mother."

"Princess! Be careful what you say and do." The maid looked around before whispering, "You must be extremely careful. The Cold Palace is not a place to discuss secrets."

A look of regret flashed in the little princess's eyes, then she nodded, signaling the maid to remove her hand.

The maid was right. In less than a quarter of an hour, the secret guards who had received the emperor's orders had spread throughout the palace, even to the cold palace where the little princess lived.