How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

After the group arrived at the inn, went to their rooms, and rested for a while, they all gathered in Liu Yin's room.

"Teacher, why didn't you let us ask just now?" Wang Wenxin was always impatient.

"Is the teacher worried that we're new here and might cause trouble?" Cheng Le'an was never one to talk much, but he was always the most perceptive.

"Does the teacher also think that rumor is false?" Zhuo Yongnian asked.

“Yes, definitely. Listen to this: an ancient temple with a thousand-year history, and marrying an ugly woman. It all seems too far-fetched.” Wang Yongxin nodded repeatedly.

"Besides this, what else did you notice that was wrong?" Liu Yin asked the children with a smile.

"Hmm..." The group of people all frowned.

Liu Yin glanced at Tao Boyi, indicating that he should start.

Tao Boyi thought for a moment and said, "His stepmother's illness is very strange."

He certainly thought there was more to it than just that, but he was always calm and didn't want to show off, so he only mentioned the most superficial one.

Liu Yin had been watching this behavior closely, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at Dou Yuanliang and Yu Weizhi.

Dou Yuanliang thought for a moment and said, "The rumors about that ancient temple are very strange."

"And that old man who spoke, how come he's the only one who's heard of him when no one else has?" Yu Weizhi added.

Mu Jiaxu thought for a moment before saying, "I think that so-called miracle doctor is even stranger."

"If the divine doctor is strange, then wouldn't it be strange if a woman with divine medical abilities is also unusually ugly?" Zhuo Yongnian then said.

“Yeah, and after saving someone, she insisted that the person marry her. How strange,” Wang Wenxin added.

"Indeed, it just feels strange, though I can't quite put my finger on it." Xu Jinggen didn't specify what it was, but he did express his feelings.

Cheng Le'an concluded: "Everything is suspicious, from the story itself to the person telling it."

After the children finished speaking, Liu Yin smiled and looked at Mei Wu: "Mei Wu, why don't you tell us?"

Mei Wu glanced at her in surprise before turning to the children and saying, “When I was traveling with the Second Miss, we met a county magistrate who was renowned for his filial piety. Everyone in the county praised him for his compassion, but the people in that county lived in great poverty, and many had to sell their children.”

"At the time, the second daughter and I found it very strange. The people were already living like this, yet they still praised the county magistrate. But we had never heard him praise anything about the people's livelihood except for his reputation for filial piety."

"Later, the girl and I found it very strange, so we inquired around and learned that the magistrate was originally from a prominent local family. He had a reputation for filial piety since his youth, and the imperial court later selected him to be a local civil official."

"This..." Everyone looked at each other, shocked by the news they had heard.

"Could it be that Chen Minyan is also after an official position?" Wang Wenxin frowned, full of confusion.

Liu Yin looked at Tao Boyi and said, "Boyi, you are the eldest among us, so why don't you speak?"

Tao Boyi paused for a moment before saying, "It's the teacher."

After a moment of contemplation, Tao Boyi said, "This is a method used by many local gentry or poor scholars to seek an official position. It is quite useful under the recommendation system. With a good reputation, superiors will have a good impression of you, and it will be easier to obtain an official position."

"However, with the reform of the imperial recommendation system, this method also had its shortcomings. After all, the reputation of filial piety was too easy to obtain. Later, the reputation of talented scholars, child prodigies, and so on came about. They called it cultivating reputation."

“Eh…” Wang Yongxin’s face showed a mocking and disdainful expression.

Cheng Le'an and Xu Jinggeng also looked disdainful.

Tao Boyi said with a wry smile, "But cultivating prestige is not something ordinary people can afford. If the family is weak and has no one to help, then cultivating prestige is useless."

"Then it seems the Chen family is no ordinary gentry family either," Wang Yongxin said, raising an eyebrow with some surprise.

"According to the people who helped spread the word, the Chen family used such methods twenty years ago. It must have been the Chen family helping each other and concealing the truth. Since it succeeded twenty years ago, it might succeed again twenty years later," Liu Yin said nonchalantly.

"But... what good will it do for the people to appoint such a fame-seeking person as an official?" Cheng Le'an frowned, full of worry.

“I have written quite a few books now, and you have traveled to many places with me. Have you ever thought about writing some articles yourselves?” Liu Yin suddenly suggested.

"Us?" The group was somewhat at a loss.

“Yes, you write. Haven’t you ever thought of speaking your mind after seeing so many different aspects of life?” Liu Yin looked at them with some surprise.

The group looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

In that quiet moment, Cheng Le'an nodded: "I want to write."

Once she spoke, the others no longer hesitated and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Liu Yin smiled and nodded before saying, "Then you can write whatever you want—your observations, your thoughts, your reflections, anything goes."

After seeing off the students whose minds were full of thoughts about writing, Liu Yin turned to look at Mei Wu.

Mei Wu nodded knowingly. Liu Yin's eyes were deep as she thought about everything that had happened in the past few days. She said to her, "Mei Wu, thank you for your hard work these past few days. Please keep an eye on things for me."

Mei Wu responded softly. She noticed that Mei Wu's face was not as delicate as it had been in Qinhuai, and she no longer possessed the air of wealth and refinement she once had. Instead, she exuded a gentle and serene warmth.

"What's wrong?" Liu Yin looked up at her in confusion.

"Miss, do you think your identity will be exposed in the capital?" Mei Wu asked with some concern.

"I don't know, maybe yes, maybe no." Liu Yin stared blankly at the tea leaves swirling in her teacup, lost in thought for a moment.

“But if they expose it, then… what if they…” Mei Wu pursed her lips, unsure of what to say.

Liu Yin looked at her and smiled knowingly: "You mean, they'll say I tarnished my father's reputation?"

Mei Wu looked at her, a hint of heartache flashing in her eyes, but because the other person had hit the nail on the head, she didn't know what to say for a moment.

Liu Yin smiled and said, "When I first started writing lyrics as Liu Yin, although they called me the First Lyricist Liu Dajia, they never thought of me as just a little woman who couldn't cause any trouble. Later, after my identity as a recluse and Qingyin was exposed, they both despised my past as a prostitute and were shocked by the content of my writing that touched their hearts. They both admired and despised me, but in the end, they were constrained by my identity as a woman."

"After that, my works appeared one by one. Some who despised me turned to worship me, some turned to ignore me, but many still hated me for not being content as a woman."

She looked up at the starry sky outside and continued, "Since things have come to this, what do I have to fear? They say that because I was born a prostitute, I must be of lowly status. But my royal bloodline tells them that there is no bloodline in this world higher than mine. If they say that I am a princess who has fallen into prostitution and did not die to prove my innocence, then every article I have written is a slap in their face, telling them that status is never determined by status or bloodline."

"Lowly, I was once recognized as the lowest of beings in the world. Noble, I was once recognized as a noble being. So I have never been afraid of their gossip. I would rather that person admit it, because only a just and honorable revenge is a revenge worthy of my family."