How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

With the help of many powerful families, the rumors spread faster and wider than Duan An had imagined.

"What do you think we should do?" Duan An handed the message he had received to everyone.

Starting with He Ruilin, the document was passed around among them before being returned to Duan An.

Duan An placed the letter face down on the table, looked around, and then asked, "What does it say?"

He Ruilin frowned slightly and said with some difficulty, "The news spread too fast. It's our fault for not stopping it."

“My sister once said that rumors are more ferocious than tigers. Once they spread, they must be refuted as soon as possible in order to be of any use. If they spread, they will be like a dam collapsing from an ant hole, flowing out in a thousand miles, and cannot be stopped by human power,” Duan An said with a sigh.

"As the sages often say: rumors stop with the wise, flourish with the foolish, and arise from the scheming. I think we cannot stop our efforts to refute these rumors," an official said after thinking for a moment.

"What about you? What do you think?" Duan An continued to look at the others.

Another official thought for a moment and said, "There are only two options now: either deny it to the death or admit it."

The other officials, like the two of them, always repeated the same things over and over, which made Duan An frown and feel somewhat dissatisfied.

Everyone naturally noticed her dissatisfaction, but since this matter involved various aristocratic families and Liu Yin's reputation, they were indeed hesitant to act rashly.

“I think we should ask Yinrong about this first.” He Ruilin understood everyone’s concerns, and although he was dissatisfied, he understood. He could only sigh inwardly before continuing.

“Yes, yes, Lord City, let’s ask the Princess about this.” The other officials nodded in agreement.

After pondering for a moment, Duan An looked at Mu Jiaxu and asked, "Jiaxu, based on your understanding of your sister, what do you think she will do?"

Mu Jiaxu thought for a moment before looking up and saying, "Reporting to the city lord, based on my understanding of my teacher, he will surely let it go and will not care about this matter."

Duan'an paused for a moment after hearing this, then slowly exhaled and said, "Yes, given my sister's personality, she definitely wouldn't care about this, she might even..."

"She will definitely write a book to satirize those aristocratic families." Zhang Yong'an sat in the waterside pavilion, holding fish food in her hand, teasing the koi in the pond. Watching the koi thrash about, she couldn't help but murmur.

"Madam?" The maid beside her didn't hear her whisper and looked at her strangely.

Zhang Yong'an lowered his eyes slightly, looking at the fish food in his hand, then at the koi carp vying for it in the pond, a mocking expression on his face.

The maidservant, not waiting for a reply, couldn't help but show a hint of disdain in her eyes before continuing, "Madam, we should go back. The weather is so chilly, and the pavilion is even more humid. We mustn't let the cold get into our bodies."

Zhang Yong'an ignored her and, just like before, sprinkled the fish food into the pond little by little.

The maid seemed about to speak again to urge them on.

Zhang Yong'an threw the remaining fish food into the pond, shook his clothes, and then looked up at the maid.

The maid took a step back, stung by her icy gaze, and asked fearfully, "Madam... Madam..."

Zhang Yong'an silently stood up and walked towards her step by step.

The maid was so frightened that she retreated all the way to the railing of the waterside pavilion, where she tripped over a bench and hurriedly grabbed the railing for support.

Zhang Yong'an leaned close to her body, which was leaning back, and sneered before whispering in her ear, "No matter what, I am still the wife of the Qian family. What are you?"

After saying that, she stood up and watched as the maid trembled, straightened up, and collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Yong'an glanced at the koi carp dispersing in the water and said indifferently, "People are just like these koi carp, driven by self-interest. You and I are no exception."

Having said that, he ignored the maid, turned around, stepped down the waterside pavilion steps, and left.

Seeing her leave, the maidservant hurriedly picked up her dress and chased after her.

Back in his room, looking at the elegant yet opulent decor, Zhang Yong'an remained unmoved.

She sat in front of the dressing table, looking at herself in the mirror, and for a moment she was somewhat dazed.

The person in the mirror had a delicate, young face, but was dressed in a dark blue, old-fashioned dress. Apart from a few simple ornaments on her head, she had nothing that could be described as luxurious.

That young face, reflected in those old-fashioned clothes, inevitably appeared much older, especially those lifeless eyes, which added a touch of melancholy to the aged look.

"Madam, the eldest young master has come to pay his respects." Mingyue, the head maid who was serving in the room, quickly walked up to her.

Zhang Yong'an looked away from the mirror before saying to Mingyue, "Go and tell the eldest young master that I am not feeling well and there is no need for him to pay his respects."

Mingyue showed no surprise, nodded, accepted the order, and withdrew.

In the courtyard, a man over thirty years old stood respectfully. When he saw Mingyue come out, his expression remained unchanged, seemingly without any surprise, especially after Mingyue said that Zhang Yong'an would not see him.

"In that case, please inform my mother, Miss Mingyue, that I will be taking my wife and children to my maternal grandparents' home in the next few days, and will not be able to come to pay my respects. If my mother is unwell, she can take the invitation from the manor and request the family physician to come to our door." After respectfully giving these instructions, the man turned to leave.

He stopped just after turning around, turned to look at Mingyue and said, "I will have to trouble Mother to look after everything in the manor these days. Father will be back in seven days."

"Don't worry, young master, I will inform the madam." Mingyue nodded in agreement and watched the other person leave before entering the house.

After relaying what the other party had said to Zhang Yong'an, she stood aside waiting for her instructions.

A hint of sarcasm appeared on Zhang Yong'an's face: "Alright, I understand."

Seeing that she seemed to have nothing more to do, Mingyue prepared to leave.

Zhang Yong'an stopped her abruptly: "Go tell that Granny Zhang that Shuiqing is not young anymore, and I will do her a favor and let her parents take her out to marry someone."

Mingyue silently agreed, her expression unchanged, showing no surprise whatsoever. After all, Shuiqing, that girl, was arrogant because she was born into the Qian family, her mother was the former wife's dowry, and her father was a favorite of the Qian family head. She had always looked down on her own wife.

Seeing that everyone in the room had left, Zhang Yong'an walked to the bedside and took out several books from a hidden box.

The words "Hermit" were prominently displayed on it. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be entirely Liu Yin's works. Judging by its thickness, it seemed to be all of her works from her first book to the present, without missing a single one.

Zhang Yong'an touched the words in the book, regret flashing in his eyes, and murmured, "Teacher... I was really wrong..."

Her trembling hand moved down from the first book until it touched her fingertips with a book that was not quite the same.

She paused, as if frightened or unable to bear it, her fingernails trembling as she pulled out a book that looked like it had been sewn and bound by a novice.

Perhaps it could be said that this is not a book, but a haphazardly bound booklet.

On the booklet, a few words were written crookedly: "Eight Reclusive Confucian Scholars".