How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Within three days, Qingyintang, as Liu Jianniang's property, had become known to everyone in Qinhuai City, and the fact that Liu Yin had been forced by the government to admit that she was a hermit had also become common knowledge.

For a time, many performing artists who had benefited from Liu Yin's influence sent money to Qingyin Hall, hoping they could redeem Liu Yin with a large sum of money, since everyone knew that the new prefect of Huaicheng was greedy.

"Lady Yueling, this was sent by Lady Luanqin." Lingling carried a box containing silver notes and hurried to Xu Yueling's room.

“Luanqin?” Xu Yueling was stunned for a moment, then turned around and realized, “Yes, Luanqin was saved by Jianniang back then, and I heard that she has been by her side ever since.”

"Did she give any other explanation?"

"No, she only said that this was left by Lady Liu. She left two hundred taels for daily use, and brought the rest." Lingling shook her head and handed over the box.

Xu Yueling didn't open it, but nodded and waved Lingling away before opening the box, carefully counting everything, and then making a note in the ledger.

She glanced at the amount in the ledger, sighed deeply, and murmured, "Fifteen thousand taels... If this still can't feed this corrupt official, then we're in trouble."

While Xu Yueling was busy raising money and stirring up public opinion, Liu Yin encountered a crisis in prison.

"What do you want to do!" Liu Yin angrily rebuked the jailer who had been harassing her.

"Master Liu, we brothers are a bit lonely. We've heard you're the number one female lyricist in the world. Why don't you sing a song for us?" The jailer didn't care about her angry glare at all. He just looked her up and down, his eyes full of ill intent.

“I don’t perform at private gatherings,” Liu Yin replied coldly.

"Ha." The jailer sneered after hearing this. "Is that so? But what are we brothers going to do about it?"

Liu Yin ignored him, only taking a slight back warily.

When the jailer saw that she ignored him, his eyes turned cold, and he stepped forward, grabbed her arm, held her tightly, and moved closer to her.

A foul odor, a mixture of sweat, breath, and fermented alcohol, wafted over, causing Liu Yin to gag a few times.

The jailer's face grew even uglier at the sight, and he grabbed her chin, about to force a kiss on her.

The female prisoners nearby tried to step forward to stop him, but they were surrounded by the other prison guards and could only watch helplessly as he was about to assault Liu Yin.

In the struggle, he was slapped by the jailer, leaving a clear handprint on his face.

"Pah!" Liu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood.

Just as the jailer was about to throw Liu Yin onto the earthen bed, a cold voice came from outside: "What are you doing?"

Upon hearing this, the jailer quickly released Liu Yin, waved away the other jailers, and hurriedly went out to greet the prison chief, saying obsequiously, "Isn't this Brother Chen? It's alright, it's alright."

The jailer, known as Brother Chen, looked at him coldly, then glanced at Liu Yin, whose mouth was bloodied and whose face was injured, and warned, "This is not someone you can treat lightly. Don't cause trouble."

Warninged like this, the jailer lowered his head and pretended to obey, but a hint of malice flashed in his eyes as he looked at the ground.

After reprimanding the man and sending him away, Warden Chen looked at Liu Yin and said in a low voice, "Mrs. Liu, thank you for saving my daughter before. Don't worry, I'll be here in this prison and I will definitely not let those scum harass you again."

Liu Yin had recovered by this time, and was being held in Zhang San Niang's arms. She could only look up at the familiar person in front of her and say politely, "Thank you for saving me, Master Chen. It was just a small favor back then."

"No need for further words, Master Liu. You should rest well." Chen, the jailer, looked around before adding, "I heard everyone is pooling their money. Don't worry."

Since entering prison, Liu Yin had been completely blind to the outside world and was also uneasy about the implementation of the plan. Only now could she finally relax.

Before Liu Yin could say anything more, Chen, the jailer, quickly left without lingering.

News of Liu Yin's arrest not only spread throughout Qinhuai, but also gradually outwards. Even Cui Heng, who had just returned to Qinhuai, had heard about it and hurried to Huaicheng.

Meanwhile, Madam Liu and Xu Yueling had already met and headed straight for the prefect's residence with the money.

They waited at the door for a long time before being let in.

Upon meeting the prefect, Madam Liu politely handed over the box containing the silver notes: "My lord, my Jianniang is just a young woman who loves to write love stories. She is not worthy of the name of a hermit. Your Excellency is wise and powerful, and I am sure you have a decision to make."

The prefect looked greedily at the silver notes that were almost overflowing from the box, and couldn't help but sigh at Liu Yin's wealth. However, he still said coldly, "Madam Liu is joking. In our Huaicheng, there is no one with such talent and vision but Master Liu. Moreover, Master Shen has also admitted that the hermit's manuscript was given to them by Master Liu."

The Shen family… Madam Liu’s teeth were practically shattered. She had wondered why they had suddenly approached Liu Yin, why the head of the Shen family had suddenly gone on a long trip, and why the Shen family had refused to see her. It turned out that it was all because they felt guilty.

But at this moment, she could only carefully argue: "My lord, this hermit submitted his manuscript to Jianniang after failing to get it accepted in the capital. Jianniang appreciated his talent and thus helped him out. My Jianniang is an ignorant young woman and cannot understand the hidden meaning behind this. My lord, ignorance is no excuse."

The prefect looked at the silver notes in the box, his heart itching with desire, but thinking of the prime minister's letter and the imperial edict, he hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth and pushing the box over: "Alright, Liu Jianniang really has no evidence to prove her in this matter, how can I bend the law for personal gain?"

Seeing that although his eyes were full of greed, he was still able to refuse with a heavy heart, Madam Liu's heart turned cold.

She and Xu Yueling pleaded for a long time, but to no avail. They were politely asked to leave the mansion by the prefect's servants.

After a brief discussion, the two went to seek help from people they knew who could speak with them. Madam Liu even thought of her aunt's husband's family.

“I sent a letter home yesterday. I’ve inquired about Prefect Zhang; he’s from the same clan as Prime Minister Zhang. My family is also related to Prime Minister Zhang through some connections, so perhaps we can put in a good word for him,” the uncle reassured his wife, quickly explaining his arrangements.

"Thank you so much, brother-in-law." Madam Liu looked at her brother-in-law gratefully before turning to Aunt Liu and saying, "Just as we expected, it was the Shen family who filed the complaint. Now we should think about whether we can start with the Shen family."

"Keep a close eye on the Shen family. Dig three feet into the ground to find out who the head of the Shen family is and make her personally clear up the rumors for the young lady." Cui Heng returned to Huaicheng overnight, and without even changing his clothes, he quickly gave the order.

"Also, find a way to bribe a few jailers to send some things to the girl." His eyes grew colder. "As for that corrupt official, I heard he's a relative of Prime Minister Zhang. Let's make a scene in the capital and have someone in the palace whisper in his ear to get the girl out as soon as possible."

"Yes." The young men were about to nod in agreement.

Cui Heng calmed down and continued, "You should arrange for people to be ready to send Liu and the others away at any time, and also prepare a carriage for the young lady."

"Yes." Seeing that he had no further instructions, the young men turned and left.