How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Shengyuan Trading Company is located on the most bustling commercial street in the city. Seven or eight shops are connected together. Facing the main entrance is a cabinet that occupies one wall of the entire shop, displaying all kinds of goods. Because of its comprehensive range of goods and its wealth, Shengyuan Trading Company has become one of the top trading companies in Huaicheng even though it has only been around for less than half a year.

Today is the day when the Shengyuan Trading Company's caravan is returning to the city with its goods. Therefore, even though it is almost 11 PM, the trading company is still bustling with people. Peddlers from the surrounding area are taking advantage of the darkness and the scarcity of individual customers to rush to buy goods so that they can leave the city at the earliest time tomorrow to sell their goods in the surrounding villages and towns.

Xu's mother's hurried arrival went unnoticed. She hesitated for a moment when she saw so many people in the front hall. Just then, a deliveryman passed by her, and she quickly grabbed him: "Young man, is your boss here?"

The young man, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, was suddenly grabbed by a woman who smelled strongly of perfume. He flinched slightly before replying, "Why don't you go inside and ask? We movers don't know anything about what's going on inside."

Without waiting for Xu's mother to ask any more questions, he carried the goods past her and went into the store. Xu's mother had no choice but to squeeze into the store, only to find that the shop assistants behind the counter were so busy that no one had time to serve her.

It wasn't until a waiter who happened to be available saw her standing there looking anxious that he kindly said, "Madam, is there anything you want to buy? Why don't you come back tomorrow during the day? We don't serve walk-in customers in the evening."

"Thank you for your help, young man. I'm looking for the shopkeeper. Is he available?" Xu's mother, who was anxiously waiting, hurriedly spoke up when someone paid attention to her.

"The shopkeeper and the master have gone out. Madam, why don't you come again tomorrow?" the waiter replied politely.

Upon hearing that the person was not there, Xu's mother felt a wave of dizziness, and then anxiously asked, "Young man, could you please tell me when the shopkeeper will be back?"

"I don't know, but if you're really in a hurry, why don't you wait in the private room upstairs? If you don't come back later, then you can go back." The waiter saw that her face was pale and was worried that something had happened to her, so he suggested this.

Having no other choice, Mrs. Xu went upstairs with him. The other party politely arranged for tea and refreshments to be served, but Mrs. Xu had no appetite for them and paced anxiously around the room.

After waiting for about an hour, the manager of Shengyuan Trading Company finally returned, looking travel-worn. The manager of Shengyuan Trading Company in Huaicheng was a man over fifty years old. He was taken aback when he saw Madam Xu as he pushed open the door. He had thought that the woman the shop assistant had mentioned was the manager of some trading company, but he didn't expect her to be a stranger. He stepped forward and asked, "May I ask what business you have with me, Madam?"

Xu's mother was overjoyed to see that the man had arrived. She paid no attention to the shopkeeper's somewhat impolite question and quickly took out a jade pendant from her bosom that was very similar to Cui Heng's Tai Chi fish jade pendant and handed it over.

The shopkeeper's pupils dilated when he saw the jade pendant, and his tone immediately became much more polite: "Madam, please wait a moment." With that, he left with the jade pendant.

Shortly after, Cui Heng walked in, his face still showing a hint of barely perceptible anger. He dismissed the servants and closed the door before looking coldly at Xu's mother and saying, "Xu Yanyan! You're asking for it! (╰_╯) Who gave you the right to come here with this token?"

He was about to step forward to teach Xu's mother a lesson, but Xu's mother ignored his threats and knelt down to tell him everything: "Master Cui, you can punish me as you see fit, please save my daughter."

"Save? What can I use to save her?" After hearing the story, Cui Heng's murderous intent lessened, but he glanced at Xu's mother indifferently.

"That...that day in the private room..." Seeing Cui Heng's increasingly cold eyes, Xu's mother's voice grew softer and softer.

"Heh, what are you thinking?" Cui Heng used a dagger to lift Xu's mother's chin and said with a mocking look, "A bunch of lowly bastards, how dare you ask me to use Shengyuan to bail people out for you? What are you people?"

After saying that, he stopped looking at Xu Mama's already somewhat ashen face, turned around and was about to leave. Just before leaving, he turned back and looked at Xu Mama with a sarcastic tone, saying, "It's just being played with a few more times. It's a matter of being slept with by thousands of men. What's there to be afraid of? Even if this batch dies, we'll just replace it with another batch. In this world, people, especially women, are the cheapest material."

Madam Xu's fruitless return made the other courtesans at Qingyin Hall uneasy. Madam Xu saw this and had no intention of saying anything more. She simply comforted them and told them to go about their business.

The next day, Liu Yin also sent someone to inquire, but they said there was still no news. Hearing Zhu Mei's reply, Liu Yin felt her bad feeling grow stronger.

"Are you worried that something might have happened to those two courtesans, Miss?" Zhu Mei asked, seemingly puzzled. "Forgive my bluntness, but Master Cui is right. They are both courtesans by trade, so they should have experienced this before. They should be fine, right?"

Liu Yin nodded, then shook her head before saying, "Even prostitutes shouldn't be forced to do these things. Just because they're willing on ordinary days doesn't mean every time it happens should be their choice. Everyone has unquestionable rights; it's a right bestowed upon us by heaven." She continued, "Furthermore, the young master Cui of the Anle Prince's Mansion is not someone to be trifled with. If Yinling's disrespectful words had reached his ears, I'm afraid..."

Zhu Mei understood Liu Yin's unspoken words, and seeing that Liu Yin was somewhat worried, she comforted her, saying, "There's nothing you can do to help with this, Miss. How about I have Mei Wu wait at Qingyin Hall every day and come to tell you as soon as there's any news?"

Liu Yin thought for a moment and could only nod and let her make the arrangements. Not long after Zhu Mei left, she looked at her first manuscript for a long time, as if she had an inspiration, and picked up a pen and paper to write a new story.

As for Luanqin and the other person, they were abandoned at the entrance of Qingyin Hall by the people of Anle Prince's Mansion early on the third day. It was the tea-pots who got up early to clean that found them and quickly brought them inside and woke up Xu Mama.

After Xu's mother rushed downstairs, many of the other performers who were still awake or had been woken up were already waiting on the first floor. Their eyes kept glancing at the two bloodied and mangled figures on the stage, their eyes filled with fear and pity.

Xu's mother naturally saw the two people who were hardly human, and her legs went weak, causing her to collapse to the ground.

At this moment, the doctor that the teapot-makers had gone to fetch had arrived. Looking at the two people in front of him, he couldn't help but gasp. His hands and feet trembled slightly as he reached out to check their pulses: "They're still alive!" The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and quickly had someone help him take the two people to their room.

When Xu's mother heard that the person was still alive, she immediately perked up and arranged for people to buy medicine and tidy up. In the end, she tidied up a room, moved two beds in, and settled the two people in the room.

When Liu Yin arrived after receiving the news, the doctor had already examined the two of them. Upon hearing the doctor's diagnosis, Liu Yin couldn't help but feel terrified by the cruelty of Prince Cui.