How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

These women stared intently at Liu Yin, fearing the news they would hear would force them to continue their apprenticeship. In particular, the six women, besides the Green Pearl sisters, who were already over eighteen, were particularly affected. Although they were over sixteen, their skills were not outstanding, and their appearances were not good either. They had been wasting their time in apprenticeship, which was not a good thing. According to the rules of the brothel, if they did not register their services by the end of the year, they would be relegated to a lower-class brothel.

If the madams of the lower-class brothels don't take a liking to them, they will gradually fall into poverty. Why would they be willing to gamble their future and take a chance?

When they first learned of Luanqin's accident, they were somewhat happy, though a little saddened by the loss of their own kind, thinking they could use this opportunity to get ahead. But now, seeing Liu Yin looking more at the Green Pearl sisters, they felt increasingly desperate.

Madam Xu didn't care about any of that. Decades had passed since she entered the brothel, and she had seen it every year. She was already numb to it and didn't pay any attention to it at the moment. She asked Liu Yin kindly, "Does Jianniang think Sister Lüzhu is suitable?"

Liu Yin shook her head without speaking. Xu's mother, looking puzzled, pressed on, "Then you..."

"I think we should make other arrangements for the Green Pearl sisters. Let me think it over before we talk about it." Liu Yin stared at the group of people, full of hesitation, and had no mind to talk about anything else.

When the ladies heard that the Green Pearl sisters had not been chosen, they knew that their chances of being selected had increased, and their eyes lit up as they looked at Liu Yin with anticipation.

After hesitating for a long time, Liu Yin still pointed to Nongyue and Fenglan and said, "You two stand together so I can take a look."

These two had baby faces that were different from everyone else's. They looked very young, but their eyes did not have the innocence of children. Nongyue looked slightly more young and her face was more pitiful. Fenglan was taller and had more defined features, which added a bit of sharpness to her.

The two watched nervously as Liu Yin circled around them again and again, occasionally making them do some inexplicable things. The other two were also a little uneasy, but they didn't know whether they were more happy for the two of them or more disappointed for themselves.

After Liu Yin had observed carefully, she dismissed Feng Lan and kept Nong Yue behind. Then she handed her the piece of music and asked her to try playing it once.

Seeing this, Madam Xu understood that the marriage envoy had chosen someone, so she stepped forward to examine Nongyue carefully before asking hesitantly, "Is Nongyue's appearance suitable?"

"It's perfect, it suits Tang Guozi very well." Liu Yin had someone practice the tune while pulling Xu's mother aside to talk.

She carefully explained her arrangements, and Xu's mother's expression changed from hesitation to joy. She then patted Liu Yin and said with a smile, "Good girl, you've finally brought me good news."

He then hurriedly summoned someone to scatter the invitations, and then carefully instructed Nongyue to practice diligently. He then looked at Fenglan and told her to follow along carefully as well. Ignoring Fenglan's surprise and delight, he left with his men.

Liu Yin stopped there and carefully taught the suite of songs again. After watching the person practice for an hour or so, she said goodbye to Xu Mama.

When she arrived home, she saw that Madam Liu had already returned, and hurriedly went up to her: "Mother, you're back. What happened? Why didn't you come home all night?"

Madam Liu, having changed into casual clothes, was organizing a booklet when she heard the question. She looked up and saw that Madam Liu was also smiling broadly: "I'll tell you later, it's good news."

After saying that, looking at Liu Yin's face, he asked with concern, "You don't look well. Has Xu Yanyan caused trouble again?"

"No, it's just that I can't get over a hurdle in my heart." Liu Yin shook her head, hesitated for a moment before recounting the selection of people today, and then asked, "Mother, did I do something wrong?"

"Where do you think you went wrong?" Madam Liu asked with concern, but her face also showed a hint of doubt, indicating that she truly understood Liu Yin's thoughts.

Looking at her, Liu Yin felt a little helpless. She sighed deeply and said, "Mother, when I looked at Nongyue's face today, I knew she would definitely appeal to people with certain special tastes. Coupled with Tangguozi's lyrics and music, it's like adding wings to a tiger."

"Isn't this good?" Madam Liu said, puzzled.

"It's probably good for Nongyue, but I wonder if, once Nongyue becomes the most beautiful courtesan, it will lead more people down this wrong path. How many young girls will suffer the same fate as Guozi? I feel like my hands are covered in blood, the blood of my sisters." Liu Yin looked at her fair and slender hands and felt as if they were covered in dirty blood, with the faces of girls she couldn't make out, cursing and swearing at her.

"This isn't your fault," Madam Liu said, comforting her with a touch of heartache. "In this world, there's more black than white. Even if you didn't propose the 'Moon Manipulation' this time, there would be other places proposing the 'Red Moon' or 'Blue Moon' next time. And even if those are gone, there's still the Prince of Anle's son who forces things..."

Afterwards, Madam Liu smoothed her hair before saying, "Those high-ranking officials and nobles, once they have money and power, they want to show it off, otherwise they'll be hiding their wealth in the dark. But if they show it off too much, there will be someone stronger to deal with them. So they secretly vent their lust on innocent people. Age and gender are never things they consider."

“So, this world is rotten to the core…” Liu Yin knew that Madam Liu was right. Even in a peaceful country like her previous life, there were still all sorts of heinous cases targeting children. Leaning against Madam Liu’s chest, she looked at the blue sky and suddenly asked, “Mother was also born into a powerful family, wasn’t she?”

Before Madam Liu could answer, Liu Yin continued, "I heard from Mama Xu that Mother entered the brothel at the age of fifteen. But Mother's temperament and talent are not something that can be cultivated in an ordinary family. Not to mention, I heard from Mama Xu that you were once a famous courtesan."

"Yes, I come from an official family, not a noble family. My father was a wonderful father. Even though I was a girl, he raised me and my brothers together. My mother was an extremely gentle and virtuous lady. She always smelled sweet and looked at me with warm eyes. I haven't seen them for a very long time..." Madam Liu paused, her gaze drifting into the distance as if she saw a heartwarming scene. A happy smile, unlike anything Liu Yin had ever seen, appeared on her face.

"Then they..." Liu Yin knew that in this era, family background was not a permanent protective shield for women. Even women from wealthy families could be abducted by bandits, and widows from official families could be stolen and sold by their own clansmen. For women, there was danger everywhere in this era.

“Dead…” Madam Liu’s face was devoid of any emotion, as if she were recalling the tragedy of that year.

This was exactly what Liu Yin had expected. She had already thought of it. If it wasn't her husband's family who did it before she was fifteen and about to get married, then it could only be because her family had fallen on hard times that she ended up in such a miserable state.