How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Is this my sister's new story?" Duan'an looked at the manuscript in her hands with tears in her eyes, her voice filled with sobs, which was heartbreaking to hear.

"What's wrong?" Liu Yin couldn't help but smile as she wiped away her tears.

"This is my sister's new story, right? It's so pitiful, sob sob sob." Duan An wiped her face somewhat embarrassedly before handing the manuscript to Liu Yin.

"Yeah, how is it? Does it look good?" Liu Yin couldn't help but smile.

"Mmm-hmm-hmm." Duan An nodded repeatedly.

"What's wrong?" Aunt Ran, who came in with tea and snacks, looked at her strangely when she saw her like this.

It wasn't that she wasn't in a hurry, but since she arrived in Huaicheng and met Princess Duan'an, a month or so had passed, and she had already felt Liu Yin's kindness towards Duan'an, so she wasn't worried about whether the other party was bullying Duan'an.

"Aunt Hui, take a look at this." Aunt Ran, also known as Ran Hui, the palace maid who had always served Duan An, changed her name to Hui Ning after she came here, and Duan An also started calling her Aunt Hui.

"What is this?" Huining put down her things, took the manuscript, and after glancing at it for a few moments, looked at Duan'an with amusement. "Jianniang's stories are good, but she didn't cry like this."

"That means I was a little crybaby the moment I walked in, crying so hard it was like the world was ending. People who didn't know better would think we had raised a Meng Jiangnu (a legendary female warrior in Chinese mythology) in our family," Liu Yin couldn't help but tease.

"Sister!" Duan An pouted and gave her a dissatisfied look.

Don't think she's too young to understand. It just means she's like the legendary Meng Jiangnu, able to cry.

“That’s true, but our Yu Niang isn’t as powerful as her. She cried down the Great Wall, but the flood only temporarily submerged her own house.” Hui Ning couldn’t help but laugh in response, glancing up at the roof. “Sigh, I wonder if our Yu Niang has the ability to cry down her own house.”

“Oh no, I have to tell Mother to prepare money. If we don’t have enough to repair the house, the whole family will have to sleep on the streets.” Seeing Duan’an’s angry expression, Liu Yin couldn’t help but add fuel to the fire.

"Auntie! Sister!" Duan'an pouted even more.

"Oh dear, what's wrong? Who made our Yu Niang so angry?" Liu Shi happened to be passing by, turned around when she heard the noise, and couldn't help but be curious when she saw Yu Niang's appearance.

"Aunt Liu, my sister and Aunt Hui bullied me together. Please help me get revenge." Liu Shi had taken a great liking to Duan An ever since she met him, and these days she had spoiled him rotten.

Since birth, Duan'an has never received a mother-like care, which has made her more and more spoiled and she has become increasingly close to Lady Liu.

"Alright, alright, Aunt Liu's sweet baby, wait a minute, when Aunt Liu deducts their monthly wages, I'll give you candy, okay?" Madam Liu held her hand affectionately and comforted her softly, then took the child away. Before leaving, she didn't forget to glare at Liu Yin.

"Oh no, now that the little one is here, I, the eldest, am no longer favored." Liu Yin ate the tea and snacks on the table, pretending to be disappointed, which made Hui Ning smile.

"By the way, Jianniang, when are you going to send this manuscript over? Or to the Shen family?" Huining had already learned everything when they met, especially after seeing how she had protected Duan'an and risked her life to save Duan'an. Liu Yin trusted her greatly, especially after learning that she was originally a servant of the He family and was given to her younger sister by Liu Yin's mother before her marriage.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to hand it over to the Shen family. I didn’t trust Cui Heng back then, and in a moment of impulsiveness, I gave the manuscript to the Shen family. Fortunately, I only said that a scholar had sent it to me, and I even had Mei Wu copy it for me. But I’m still not at ease,” Liu Yin said hesitantly. “Moreover, I’m also worried about handing it over to Cui Heng. What if it gets involved with Shengyuan Trading Company?”

“Judging from the news coming from the capital, they all suspect each other of doing it, but they haven’t suspected this side. I think it’s better to hand it over to the trading company than to the Shen family,” Hui Ning said after thinking for a moment.

"Alright then, Aunt, could you please deliver this book to Cui Heng for me?" Liu Yin said after thinking for a moment.

“Well, but you can’t just abandon the name Liu Jianniang. Why don’t you publish another book under the name Liu Jianniang to cover for each other?” Huining said.

"Don't worry, Aunt, I've got it. From now on, the Hermit's books will mainly satirize the politics and current affairs. As for Liu Jianniang, since everyone thinks I'm good at matters of love and romance, I might as well just write about lovesick men and women." Liu Yin took out another stack of manuscripts from her desk and handed them over.

Hui Ning took the manuscript and looked at it.

This book is tentatively titled "The Tale of the Spirit Cat".

The preface, though only a hundred words or so, stirred an inexplicable and overwhelming thirst for knowledge in Huining.

"The Yuan family possessed a wondrous zither. When the ninth fret was pressed, an unusual sound would occasionally emanate from it, like a cat's meow. One night, the Yuan family rose and saw something crouching on the zither. Upon closer inspection, they discovered it was a white cat."

Yuan was greatly alarmed and tried to drive the cat away. But the white cat spoke in human language: "I am a celestial spirit cat. In my past life, you saved me, and I have come to repay your kindness." As it finished speaking, a sudden gust of wind swept through, plunging the room into darkness. When the wind subsided, the white cat vanished, leaving only a beautiful white-haired woman. Yuan was terrified and went to investigate, when suddenly a man's voice rang out: "Having nothing to repay your kindness, I have transformed into human form. I hope you will grant my request." Yuan remained silent, and the man, without uttering a sound, picked her up and carried her into the inner room…

“This…this…” Hui Ning held the manuscript, her face flushed, unsure whether to put her hand down or not.

Liu Yin laughed heartily a few times before saying to Hui Ning, who was both surprised and embarrassed, "Aunt Hui Ning, what do you think? Is this book worthy of being a book about lovesick men and women?"

"This talk of homosexuality, I'm afraid..." Hui Ning forcefully ignored the burning sensation on her face, looking at Liu Yin with a slightly furrowed brow and some worry.

“Foolish women and resentful women, ever since the beginning of the Hundred Flowers Chronicles, countless people have imitated it, and major publishing houses have also published many good works. If that’s the case, why should I compete with them? I’m going to write something new that no one else has written yet. I want to ensure that those who learn from me live and those who imitate me die.” Liu Yin looked into the void, her eyes filled with an expression that Hui Ning couldn’t understand.

“Those who learn from me will live, those who imitate me will die.” Huining murmured, “Well said, as expected of our eldest daughter, she has such spirit.”

Seeing her eyes filled with tears of emotion, Liu Yin smiled and comforted her, "Aunt Huining, when I stand at a high place, those who want to hurt me will have something to worry about."

Hui Ning frowned upon hearing this: "What does Jian Niang mean?"

"I always felt that this matter couldn't be kept secret for long, and I have a plan in mind. If I carry it out, there will definitely be danger around me." Liu Yin sighed deeply, her tone full of hesitation.

“Sword Maiden…” Huining looked at her with some concern.

"It's okay, let me think about it some more, let me think about it some more." Liu Yin lowered her eyes and looked at the ground, her eyes full of hesitation.

Especially the sounds of Liu Shi, Zhu Mei, and Luan Qin playing with Duan An in the courtyard, so joyful...