How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Cui Hongyun stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Although I am not in the capital, I am still a member of the royal family, and some people always like to send me messages."

Liu Yin didn't ask who sent the message, nor why it was sent.

Cui Hongyun smiled and said nothing more, only taking the fire tongs and turning the stove over.

Looking at the leaping flames, Liu Yin suddenly asked, "Why is Grand Uncle in this forest?"

Cui Hongyun was taken aback for a moment before smiling and saying, "I'm just traveling around here and helping a child look after the woods."

Liu Yin looked at him in surprise, then, thinking of the strange layout of the woods, she asked, "The person who planted the trees?"

Cui Hongyun nodded without surprise: "Yes, their whole family used to plant trees here, and now they only have this one child left."

Liu Yin became even more curious.

Seeing her like this, Cui Hongyun smiled and explained, "A hundred years ago, an ancestor of the Li family served as an official here. At that time, the area was hit by a sandstorm that was rare in a century, which buried half of the town underground. The Li family ancestor was deeply saddened and vowed to settle here and solve the sandstorm problem."

Liu Yin nodded: "So they planted trees here?"

Cui Hongyun nodded: "Yes, the Li family ancestors searched through ancient books and discovered that this place was not so desolate hundreds of years ago. On the contrary, it was once a place with abundant vegetation."

Liu Yin understood: "When will Grand Uncle leave?"

Cui Hongyun thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait a few more years. I'm not young anymore, and the last heir of the Li family is still young. Let's wait until he's older."

Liu Yin looked out the window at the woods: "Have they found trees suitable for this place?"

Cui Hongyun followed her gaze and nodded: "Yes, they planted many kinds of trees, and finally chose three kinds. Two kinds were planted here, and one kind was planted in another place."

Liu Yin became interested: "I wonder if he sells saplings of these trees?"

Cui Hongyun looked at her in surprise: "You want to buy trees?"

Liu Yin nodded: "Mm."

Cui Hongyun didn't ask her what she wanted to do with the tree, but simply nodded and said, "It's not impossible. I'll ask the child about it for you later."

Liu Yin thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "Since Grand Uncle doesn't plan to leave this place in the short term, let's talk about it again next spring."

Seeing this, Cui Hongyun said nothing more.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the crackling of burning wood.

Liu Yin had no intention of staying overnight. She looked at Cui Hongyun and a thought came to her mind.

"Uncle, I have something I'd like to ask you."

"Hmm?" Cui Hongyun looked at her in confusion.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Yin asked, "Grand Uncle, what are your thoughts on the princes now?"

Cui Hongyun paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "I don't really care. As long as the country doesn't fall before I'm alive, I'll just let them be."

Liu Yin was not surprised by his answer.

Seeing the expression on Liu Yin's face, Cui Hongyun could tell that she was not very satisfied with the answer, so he raised an eyebrow.

"What? You want to interfere in the succession to the throne?"

"Correct."

Cui Hongyun stood there stunned. Seeing Liu Yin's serious expression, which showed no sign of joking, he suppressed his smile and lowered his head to think for a long time.

"Who do you want to choose?"

Instead of answering him directly, Liu Yin asked him, "Grand Uncle, if you were given two heirs, one intelligent but arrogant who treats everyone as his servants, and the other intelligent but kind-hearted, understanding of people's livelihood and caring for the common people, which one would you choose?"

Without hesitation, Cui Hongyun replied, "Of course, I have the people in my heart."

"However, which of the emperor's princes possesses such qualities?" he asked curiously.

Liu Yin still didn't give him a direct answer: "What if the one in a high position is a prince, and the one who understands the people's livelihood is a princess?"

Cui Hongyun's expression changed drastically. He frowned as he looked at her, then, as if he had just remembered something, asked her, "Is Duan'an with you?"

Liu Yin raised an eyebrow, just smiled at him, neither saying yes nor no.

But for Cui Hongyun, this was practically a done deal.

He looked at Liu Yin, his brows furrowed, his hand constantly stroking the teacup in his hand: "What do you want to do?"

The question was unnecessary; Liu Yin's meaning had already been conveyed in her words. However, he still harbored a glimmer of hope: what if... what if Liu Yin didn't think that way?

But Liu Yin's words interrupted his thoughts.

"I want to choose a more suitable ruler for Li Chao."

Cui Hongyun's expression had turned somewhat ugly. He looked coldly at Liu Yin and said, "Just a woman."

Liu Yin didn't mind his sudden change in attitude. After all, he was a member of the royal family, the biggest beneficiary of feudal society, and a high-ranking nobleman.

Liu Yin's ideas were practically jumping on his sore spots.

"The eldest prince is brave but reckless, the second prince is shrewd but lacks the grandeur of a king, the third prince is good at manipulating human nature but lacks benevolence, and the fourth prince is skilled in administrative affairs but lacks temperament. But Duan'an has all of these qualities."

Cui Hongyun remained unmoved: "So what? There has never been a precedent of a woman becoming emperor in this world."

"Why do people follow past examples?" Liu Yin's face showed a hint of mockery. "If we really want to follow ancient precedents, why doesn't the royal family follow the ancient practice of choosing the wise as kings and abolish the later practice of father-to-son inheritance?"

Cui Hongyun looked at her but didn't reply.

Liu Yin didn't care: "People don't want a woman to be emperor. First, if there is an empress, wouldn't there have to be female prime ministers and female officials? The positions in the court are already so competitive that men are fighting over them. If women are added to the mix, wouldn't those fools have an even harder time getting to the top? Second, childbirth is a life-threatening situation for women. If an empress dies during childbirth, the dynasty will inevitably fall into war."

"Since you knew that, why did you still do it?" Cui Hongyun's face was full of doubt.

"Why?" Liu Yin looked into the void.

"For the sake of all women in this world, I demand justice." The sarcasm on her face grew even stronger.

"Just because of this?" Cui Hongyun looked at her in confusion. "Men are yang, women are yin. Yin and yang each have their own roles to maintain the balance of the world."

Liu Yin looked at the teacup in her hand, her emotions hidden beneath her thick eyelashes. She curled her lips into a cold smile and asked, "Grand Uncle, have you read any of the books I've written?"

Cui Hongyun paused for a moment before saying, "I've read it, it's very well written."

"Have you read the three books, 'The Woman,' 'The Woman,' and 'The Princess'?"

“…No.” Cui Hongyun replied hesitantly.

Liu Yin let out a mocking "Heh," and before Cui Hongyun could say anything, she tapped her cup with her fingertips and said, "Is it because all three of these books are about women?"

Cui Hongyun didn't reply to her because her words struck a chord with him. He had indeed stopped paying attention to these three books because they were clearly about women, and of all the books written by Liu Yin, his favorite was "The Noble Family".