How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Unfortunately, before Madam Liu could speak, Aunt Qian, who was waiting at the door, hurriedly came over and whispered something in her ear. Seeing her expression change, Liu Yin couldn't help but ask, "Mother, what happened?"

"No, it's nothing. Jianniang, you should go and rest first. We'll talk later. I have other things to do today." Without waiting for Liu Yin's reply, she hurriedly led Aunt Qian out the door.

Liu Yin had never seen Madam Liu so anxious. With worry in her heart, she followed the two women to the door. Seeing that the two women got into an unfamiliar carriage and left, she returned to her room with worry.

She waited until the moon was high in the sky, but no one came back. She had no choice but to ask Mei Wu to wait in the gatehouse. She would only go back to rest if they came back and helped open the door.

She didn't see anyone until the next morning. When she asked Mei Wucai, she learned that Madam Liu and her companion hadn't returned home all night. Filled with worry, she ate something and was then asked to leave by the people that Xu Mama had called.

It was the usual time for Qingyin Hall to see off guests, but today it was unusually quiet, which made her suspicious.

Then she saw that Aunt Zhou, who was leading the way, was leading her upstairs without stopping. She had a guess in her mind and followed without hesitation.

Sure enough, Madam Xu was waiting for her in the room. When she saw her come in, she was delighted and said, "Sword Maiden is here. Please have a seat."

After Liu Yin sat down, she poured her a glass of water before complaining, "You can see how deserted the place is now. I'm just waiting for your music to save my life."

Liu Yin did not refuse and gave her the suite "Honey" from "Candy" that she had prepared long ago: "Logically, I should have given it to you long ago, but I didn't expect that with the Prince of Anle's Mansion and Luanqin, it has been delayed for so long."

Mrs. Xu took the score with a joyful expression, carefully examining it as if it were a precious treasure: "Good, good, good. Better to be lucky than early. If I had given it to her earlier, I might have had to hold back so that she could amaze the world."

"When Tangguozi was born, her smile was as radiant as a flower in the sunlight. Carefree and innocent, her laughter filled the courtyard... When spring flowers were in full bloom, Tangguozi had already entered the world of prostitution... Tangguozi, your heart remains, dreaming back to those innocent years..." Mother Xu silently recited the lyrics on the paper, tears streaming down her face.

She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief before looking at Liu Yin with reddened eyes: "These words are well-written and wonderful. I think they will surely bring my Qingyin Hall back to its former glory."

However, after thinking for a moment, she said to Liu Yin, "But we're pressed for time right now. Do you think we could have the ladies practice today so they can perform on stage in the next few days?"

"This is a suite, longer than the previous pieces, and the lyrics and music are different from before." Liu Yin pointed to the manuscript and continued, "Most of the songs in our brothel district are decadent, this kind of song that laments the suffering of courtesans is probably..."

Mrs. Xu understood the implication in her words, lowered her head and thought for a moment, then frowned slightly as she looked at Liu Yin: "Then what do you think? If it takes too long, I'm afraid it will affect the business."

"Let's get the manuscript out first. I wonder if the people Mom asked to find have been arranged yet?" Liu Yin naturally had an idea early on.

"Everything was prepared a long time ago, we were just waiting for the things." Mrs. Xu nodded and was about to send someone to call for help.

When Aunt Zhao arrived, Liu Yin handed her the manuscript. Aunt Zhao was stunned for a moment before turning to look at Mama Xu. After understanding the other's meaning, she smiled and left with the manuscript.

"It will probably take them a few days to prepare, and we need someone to take charge during these days," Xu's mother said to Liu Yin after everyone had left.

"The person speaking shouldn't take that long, right?" Liu Yin said with a puzzled look.

Seeing her like this, Madam Xu knew that she didn't understand the lives of these lower-class people. But thinking that the girl had lived with her in the brothel since she was a child, it was normal that she didn't understand. So she smiled and explained, "These actors are different from us in the brothel. We serve people who can read and write, so we also have to learn these skills to sell for a higher price. But they can't get in touch with such people, so they can only pay someone to read to them and then memorize it carefully."

Liu Yin suddenly realized that this was how storytellers in ancient times learned to read and write. She had assumed that storytellers were literate, just like in her previous life. She could only smile and agree, "Alright, you can arrange it yourself."

“Alright, then why don’t you help me pick out some people these next few days? I’ll have someone send invitations to a few regular customers and set a date for them to get things done.” As she spoke, Mrs. Xu sighed, “I just don’t know if this time, after this, it will be as glorious as last time.”

Liu Yin didn't reply to her, but just smiled and drank her water. After the other person finished complaining, she smiled and said, "Since Mom let me choose, why don't we make arrangements sooner? I have some important things to do this afternoon."

Hearing her say that, Madam Xu was naturally overjoyed. She took Qingyin to the place where the young ladies were practicing. There, she saw many girls who had not yet grown their hair out or were just about to grow their hair out waiting. They were practicing in twos and threes, while a few older girls were watching from the side. Liu Yin listened carefully and realized that they were practicing the three pieces that she had become famous for before.

As the two entered, the women who had been practicing gradually stopped playing their instruments, paid their respects, and looked up at them. Liu Yin, in particular, received many eager glances.

Everyone knows that the popularity of Luanqin and Yinling is largely due to Teacher Liu, and they also know that now that one of them is disabled and the other will need to rest for a long time, they have long guessed that Madam Xu will definitely promote another one soon, and they have been looking forward to it for a long time.

"Nongyue, Yunyue, Fenglan, Fengxin, Lüzhu, Lüliu, Honglan, Hongyan, you eight, come here." Madam Xu glanced at the crowd and called out the eight people she had long favored.

When they heard Xu's mother call their names, the others looked disappointed, but after glancing at Xu's mother, they lowered their heads timidly and silently began practicing their pieces.

When the eight people arrived and introduced themselves, Liu Yin realized that six of them were the older ones she had just seen, and that Green Pearl and Green Willow were from the group that had just kept their hair short.

After carefully examining them, Liu Yin looked at the strikingly similar faces of Green Pearl and Green Willow and asked, "Are you twins?"

The two women exchanged a glance before shaking their heads at Liu Yin and saying, "Reporting to the Ministry of Education, no."

"So... what's this?" Liu Yin looked the two of them over several times, somewhat curious.

"We are cousins. I am a year older than my sister. I am sixteen this year, and my sister is fifteen." Green Pearl seemed to have experienced similar scenes many times before, and introduced herself in a habit.

Liu Yin understood, then carefully examined the others before lowering her head in thought.