How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Sister Liu, it wasn't easy for me either. You know, it hurts me so much to see such a promising courtesan ruined. That's why I asked for some money to redeem her." She looked at Madam Liu's expression, which remained unchanged and unmoved, and then said in a pleading tone, "Sister Liu, please don't blame me. Everyone from Baifang Garden was there that day. If I hadn't accepted a single penny, what would have happened to Qingyin Hall's reputation?"

Seeing that Madam Liu was still drinking tea and playing with her birds, ignoring her, she had no choice but to say again, "Besides, I don't want much. Look at these two ladies now that they're useless, my Qingyin Hall is about to go out of business. Sister, for the sake of our years of friendship, please let your niece help me out."

Madam Liu then glanced at him, before sneering and saying, "The money for redemption is certainly correct."

"Ah, that's just the rule in our brothel," Madam Xu replied, hearing Madam Liu speaking on her side.

"But..." Seeing the slight tension on Xu's mother's face upon hearing her words, Madam Liu smiled, paused, and then continued, "You know my Jianniang, she's always been stubborn, and I can't control her."

“But he is my sister’s child after all, so I should give you, his mother, some face.” Mrs. Xu quickly replied.

“That’s true, but…” Madam Liu paused, looked at Madam Xu with a smile, and said, “Back then, it was your dishonest behavior that forced the child to borrow money from me. Wasn’t that going too far?”

"Isn't that...isn't that...isn't that the rule?" Mrs. Xu asked sheepishly, her voice lowering considerably.

"It's not that there's no way out. I know your personality; the money won't come back." Madam Liu concealed the impatience in her eyes, thinking about the results of her discussion with Liu Yin, before smiling softly as if she were about to offer her some advice.

"Since you know, sister, why not guide me on a way out?" Madam Xu didn't care about Madam Liu's veiled sarcasm and continued to fawn over her, pretending not to hear.

"The child signed a three-year contract with you. Why don't you change it to a one-year contract? You won't have to pay for it; it's just a piece of paper." Madam Liu had no interest in arguing with her anymore and stated the point directly.

"This..." Before coming, Xu's mother had thought that she might suffer some grievances or humiliation, and it was not impossible for her to lose some money. However, she did not expect that the other party's purpose was a contract. Now she naturally understood that this was just a pretense by the mother and daughter.

Despite her inner turmoil, she was still unwilling to give in. She forced a smile and slowly said, "This... I'll think about this some more."

Madam Liu had already prepared herself for the other party not to agree easily, so she didn't say anything, but simply made a gesture of serving tea to see the guest off.

All the way, Xu's mother complained in her heart about Liu and her daughter. She felt that she had been more than kind to them, and that they had made such a fuss over such a small matter. Especially Liu Yin, who was originally one of her prostitutes, now dared to climb over her head and take this opportunity to make her bleed.

Her myriad thoughts naturally came to the attention of others. Today, it wasn't Aunt Zhou who came as usual, but Aunt Zhao who had taken leave to return to her hometown. This aunt always prided herself on being clever and adept at scheming. Seeing that Mama Xu's face was not good, although she didn't know what had happened in the mansion, she knew that Mama Xu must have suffered a loss. Thinking this, she said with a fawning expression, "Why should Mama be afraid of her? Even if we lose Liu Jianniang, surely we can still find Xu Jianniang and Zhang Jianniang? We can just spend a lot of money to poach one. It's just a minor instructor."

"What do you know?" Madam Xu rolled her eyes and scolded her lightly, but she was tempted. Yes, Liu Jianniang was just a girl she had personally trained back then. She knew what skills she had. It was still unknown whether those three pieces were her work. With Liu's abilities, it wasn't impossible for her to find someone to help her.

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became of her own idea. In her view, Liu Yin, who had always been obedient, had never shown any ability to write lyrics or music under her nose for more than ten years. It was impossible for her to show such talent right after she was disfigured and left. Especially when she thought of the storybook that Liu Yin had written, the way she used words and sentences was nothing like the talented woman she had raised with a lot of money.

Thinking of this, her heart warmed. If she could get help from the person behind Liu Yin, why couldn't she sit in the top seat of this brothel? She didn't believe that a poor woman like Liu could have as much money as her. Thinking this, she glanced at Aunt Zhao, signaling her to come closer, and then whispered, "Go and have your sons go to Liu's residence and keep an eye on things. See if any strangers go there on weekdays, or if anyone from her side goes to any unfamiliar places, who they meet, what they say, or what they take. Find out everything for me."

Aunt Zhao's eyes lit up when she heard this. She knew this would be her chance to turn her life around, and she immediately nodded and agreed.

After giving her instructions, Xu's mother seemed a little worried and added, "Be careful not to let anyone know."

Aunt Zhao patted her chest and assured her that she would thoroughly investigate and eliminate the spies behind Liu Yin. Mama Xu nodded and stopped the carriage at the intersection: "Get off here and go make the arrangements."

After everyone got off the car, Xu's mother sat in the car and felt increasingly uneasy. She pondered other ideas. When she got to the building, she called over her usual helpers and asked them to go out and inquire about which building had a teacher who could both teach and write lyrics and music.

Once she had given the orders, she breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to herself, "Liu Jianniang, Qingyin, what a fine girl. This time, I'll see if this world can't produce good lyrics and music without you."

Xu Yueling, who had just entered the room, overheard her words. She frowned slightly, looked around, and then closed the door tightly before coming to her mother's side: "Mom, what's wrong? How could you say such a thing? We secretly converted a prostitute into a free woman without going through the proper procedures. This is a serious crime. What if someone hears us?"

After hearing this, Mrs. Xu felt a little guilty, but she didn't want to show it in front of her daughter, so she forced herself to ask, "What are you doing here?"

Ever since Xu Yueling caused trouble for her in front of Cui Heng, she has not valued her eldest daughter as much anymore. In particular, the success of her second daughter, Xu Yinling, has made her forget about her. Now, seeing her daughter again, she suddenly felt that her daughter had changed quite a bit.

Xu Yueling's eyes had lost their seductive and domineering air, and the pale yellow dress she wore made her look even more beautiful. She didn't care about her mother's coldness; she had long since gotten used to such things. Looking at her mother, she said helplessly, "You're not planning to use Instructor Liu anymore, are you?"

"How did you know?" Mrs. Xu was taken aback.

"You sent people everywhere to inquire about the ministry, but who can you hide it from? The people in the church are all in a panic, and they don't know what the future holds." Xu Yueling felt that her mother was becoming more and more confused.

Madam Xu was surprised by how quickly the news spread. Although she hadn't intended to keep it a secret, the speed of it still took her by surprise. But after thinking about it, she was also pleased. It would be best if the news reached the ears of Madam Liu and her daughter as soon as possible, and then they would see who was more anxious. However, when she heard her daughter say that the people in the brothel had changed, she became a little angry: "What's the rush? It was no different before there was no Liu Jianniang and the others. Just pretend it never happened."

Xu Yueling hadn't come to advise her, and she didn't say anything but asked about the matter in detail before smiling and saying, "Mom, why worry about this? Even if the contract is changed, so what? Why don't you think about it from a different perspective?"

As Xu's mother listened to her daughter's detailed plan, her eyes shone brighter, though she still felt some hesitation.