How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

postscript.

Liu Yin rested in Qincheng for quite some time, but she remained sickly throughout.

Dong Feng tried everything she could to help her, but ultimately couldn't come up with a good solution.

Cui Heng also led his merchants to every place they could go, bringing countless treasures, but unfortunately they were of little use. However, he did not give up and led his caravan to wander outside the capital, hoping to find better medicinal materials to send over.

"As you read this letter: My lord, I heard from a traveling merchant that the ancient Loulan Kingdom possesses a sacred medicine that can bring the dead back to life. I will surely return with this sacred medicine on my journey..."

Yuan Mingyou had also secretly visited Liu Yin, but she discovered him.

“Princess…I…I…” He stood outside the window with his head down, muttering something unintelligible.

Seeing that he was different from before, as if he had fallen into an abyss, Liu Yin sighed deeply: "I forgive you all, and you should forgive yourself too."

Yuan Mingyou left feeling relaxed, and Liu Yin believed that he would be a bright person in the future, just like when they first met.

Eunuch Liu, who had always helped them in the palace, has now been sent by Duan'an to live a life of luxury at the Prince of Anning's residence. The young general and the other children they adopted have now become a group of loyal ministers and generals under Duan'an's command.

After that, Duan'an held its first imperial examination.

This imperial examination turned out exactly as the aristocratic families had hoped, with both the exam questions and the number of candidates favoring them, which also eased the tension between Duan'an and the aristocratic families.

Liu Yin was not disappointed, but she was still somewhat unwilling. However, she knew that in terms of knowledge and background, ordinary people were no better than aristocratic families.

However, the top scholar this time was unexpected; it was none other than Liu Yin's old acquaintance, Li Mozhu.

After the aristocratic families learned that this person was not Liu Yin's student and was from a declining aristocratic family, they continued to spread rumors that the Eight Reclusive Scholars were inferior to the sons of aristocratic families.

Unfortunately, Li Mozhu directly contradicted him, claiming to be a student of the Hermit, which led to his strained relationship with the aristocratic families, making him a tool for Duan'an to secretly sow discord among them.

The constant disputes in the imperial court kept reaching Duan'an's ears.

Those methods, whether dark or light, and the conflicts, sometimes left her feeling powerless.

Until one day, news came from the capital that Emperor Duan'an had issued an imperial edict demoting Mu Jiaxu, who had become an official in the Ministry of Agriculture. This marked the beginning of the new era.

The eight reclusive scholars all suffered demotion and exclusion.

This seemed to be a signal she was sending: female officials and those associated with hermits were being ostracized from the court or made marginalized, which brought the powerful families and her closer together.

Looking at the letter sent by Duan'an from the capital, Liu Yin felt only helplessness and confusion...

“Sister, now that I am on the throne, I understand even more how difficult things are for Father. The influence of the powerful families is far beyond our imagination. I must proceed cautiously. To lower their guard, I have no choice but to demote them. I hope you will understand, sister. I will never forget my original intentions…”

"Sword Maiden?" Wen Shuyun had already read the letter. He had been worried that Liu Yin would find out, but because of what had happened before, he dared not hide it from her. Now, seeing her like this, he was even more worried.

Liu Yin shook her head, thought for a moment, took out a book from behind her and handed it to him: "When the time comes, let this book spread throughout the world."

Wen Shuyun looked at the book in her hand with some worry.

Liu Yin continued, "Remember to hide it well. Now is not the time for this book to be published. Wait for the future... one day in the future, it will definitely be..."

Just as Wen Shuyun was about to say something, Liu Yin waved her hand at him: "Go ahead, I'll sit here by myself."

Wen Shuyun stared at her for a long time before sighing and leaving with the book.

After he left, Liu Yin took out three more identical books and placed them in different boxes. One was hidden in a secret room in the study, another contained a letter that would soon be taken away by the people from Shengyuan Trading Company, and the third, which she mixed with several medical books, was given to Dong Feng.

After she had finished everything, she sat by the window, looking at the bright moon, with a newly written book, "The Prince," in her hand. After thinking for a long time, she threw the book into the brazier and watched the fire burn everything to ashes.

Meanwhile, in the study, Wen Shuyun looked at the book in her hands with a solemn expression, and slowly closed it. The book was prominently printed with "Quotations from Chairman Mao"...

End of the full text.