How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Grandma Liu walked quickly to Duan'an and said, "You can't buy someone without paying."

Mei Wu stepped forward to stop her.

"Mei Wu, you may step back." Duan An gestured to Mei Wu, then looked at Grandma Liu with an innocent smile. "Grandma, you yourself said that your family has severed ties with Liu Sannu, so the money she received from selling herself into servitude naturally goes to Liu Sannu."

"I'm her grandmother! The money should be given to me! What's with all this talk about severing ties? I'm her elder, so she should be filial to me." Grandma Liu was initially startled by Mei Wu, but now she mustered her courage and started arguing with Duan An.

Liu Dawei and his brother stood to one side watching, making no attempt to stop them.

Duan An glanced at the village chief, whose face was already ashen with anger, and said with a smile, "Village chief, what do you think?"

Village Chief Zhang looked at Grandma Liu, then at Liu Dawei and his brother, before looking at Liu Sannu with pity and saying, "Sannu, you should go now. Keep the money for yourself."

"Village Chief!" Grandma Liu exclaimed in disbelief.

Village Chief Zhang ignored her and looked at Liu Dawei and his brother: "You two brothers have been living in the third brother's house all these years. We have seen how you have treated the third daughter. Now that the third daughter has found a good family, let's leave it at that for the sake of her being the only bloodline of you two brothers."

Liu Erming was an honest man who never liked to talk. He had been keeping his head down since he arrived, but now his face was flushed with embarrassment. He just nodded a few times with his head down.

Liu Dawei didn't want to give up, after all, even if Liu Sannu was in dire straits, she could still earn a few taels of silver for her family. However, seeing the warning in Zhang Village Chief's eyes and realizing that he was indeed isolated and helpless in this place, he could only nod with a cold face.

Seeing that the two of them agreed, Village Chief Zhang's expression softened: "Young master, Liu Sannu has always been obedient and capable, so you can rest assured. It's getting late, so you should take Sannu home quickly."

The last sentence was strange, but Duan'an could hear the hint in the words. She looked up and glanced at the family who were engaged. The man who had been staring at the three women was now looking at her with his eyes narrowed, as if he was planning something.

Duan An didn't mind and looked at Village Chief Zhang with a smile, saying, "That's true, I suppose my father is also a little worried."

After saying that, she looked at Liu Sannu and said, "You don't need to take those old things with you. You have everything at home. Let's go."

Liu Sannu hugged the cloth tightly, bowed her head and whispered her agreement, then quickly followed the steps of the master and servant.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the surrounding villagers had no choice but to call each other and go home. On the way, they naturally talked about the matter. Some envied Liu Sannu's good luck, some complained about Liu's wife's heartlessness, and some complained about Liu's brothers' meanness and ungratefulness.

After the crowd dispersed, the Liu family exchanged a few polite words with the matchmaker and entered the courtyard.

Matchmaker Liu's face turned green. She hadn't expected that after all her hard work, she would not only fail to earn a penny but also lose money. Looking at the family members who were eyeing the bride with hostility, she took a deep breath and said politely, "Sister Wang, don't worry, I'll take care of my nephew's marriage."

The woman, referred to as Sister Wang, had a half-smile on her face: "Thank you for your help, Matchmaker Liu. But everything at home is ready, so the bride won't be able to wait long."

Looking at her appearance and then at the five tall, burly men, Liu the matchmaker's heart sank. She knew this was going to be difficult, and inwardly cursed Grandma Liu for making trouble for her. But on the surface, she still smiled and said, "Don't worry, don't worry."

Looking at Matchmaker Liu, Madam Wang said bluntly, "In that case, I'll just wait at Sister Liu's house."

Without waiting for Liu the matchmaker's objection, she had her sons help her up and head towards Liu the matchmaker's house.

No one knows what they discussed with Matchmaker Liu afterward. All that is known is that three days later, Matchmaker Liu, an old maid who could not get married, was taken away by the Wang family with a piece of red cloth.

Duan An looked at Liu San Nu with curiosity and asked, "I saw that the family members were tall and strong. To be able to raise someone to such a physique, the family must be quite well-off, right? And they could afford a dowry of twenty taels. Why are you unwilling?"

Twenty taels! As far as Duan'an knew, five or six taels was considered a high price for a farmer's engagement. This was almost four times the usual price, making it a top-tier engagement in the eyes of farmers. That's why she was even more curious about Liu San's refusal.

“Young master doesn’t know the reason behind this.” Liu Sannu tightened the cloth in her arms and pursed her lips. “The Wang family were originally hunters in the mountains. It’s not easy for them to find a wife, and their lives are not very good. So basically, each family pools their money to marry a wife and then have her bear sons for all the men in the family.”

Upon hearing this, Duan An instantly understood. Thinking of the five burly men from before, she asked incredulously, "Could it be that those five men were all gay?"

Liu Sannu responded softly and nodded before continuing, "His family is even poorer. Aunt Wang lost her husband early and raised six sons and three daughters on her own. All three daughters were sold to raise enough for the dowry. Because the family was too remote, no one was willing to marry into the family, so they had to buy a wife at a high price."

"Oh, only five people came today," Duan An said.

"Hmm, I heard one of them is paralyzed and mentally challenged," Liu Sannu said, her head lowered.

"Understood." Duan An nodded, then looked at Liu San Nu and said, "Since we're already far from the village, I'll tell you the truth."

Liu Sannu looked at her with a puzzled expression, so Duan'an had to explain that she was a woman and that she was studying abroad.

Liu Sannu then looked at her delicate face and realized what was going on.

Duan'an then gave her a choice: "Your first choice is to go to Huaicheng to find my sister, and your second choice is to stay with me and go on a study tour together. Which one do you choose?"

Liu Sannu replied without hesitation, "I will follow the young master, no, young lady."

"Alright, just call me Young Master from now on," Duan An replied with a smile.

Afterwards, Duan'an took her to a nearby town, bought her some clothes, and helped her freshen up before they set off.

While she was enjoying a wonderful life, Liu Yin received bad news at home.

"Are you serious?" Liu Yin frowned as she looked at Cui Heng.

“Yes, young lady, get ready. I’ll arrange for someone to take you away.” Cui Heng frowned, looking at her with concern.

"No, no, there's no evidence yet, I can't leave." Liu Yin immediately rejected her suggestion.

“Miss!” Cui Heng stood up, looking at her with an unwavering tone, “Miss! Young master! You are of noble birth, how can you put yourself in danger?”

“Alright, Cui Heng, I understand what you mean,” Liu Yin said, looking at him. “But how can I abandon such a large family?”

“But…” Cui Heng frowned as he thought of the group of women, young and old, living in the Liu residence.

“Even if we leave, I will make sure they are settled. The best way is still what I suggested: find a suitable city to develop our power.” Liu Yin looked at Cui Heng and sighed. “So we still have to wait for news from Uncle.”

Cui Heng had no choice but to nod and agree to Liu Yin's suggestion.