How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

As dusk turns to dawn and the sun rises, time flies by. Soon, "Candy" has become a popular story in the brothels. Even though some men still look down on this kind of story about women, the numerous courtesans have shed tears for it many times. And Nongyue, whom Liu Yin had initially promoted, has indeed become another top courtesan in Qingyin Hall. Fortunately, Fenglan, who was selected as an extra courtesan, has also gained her own reputation.

While the others didn't produce any new lyrics or music, nor did they create any amazing character designs, thanks to Liu Yin's advice to Xu's mother, they have become well-known courtesans in the red-light district and pillars of Qingyin Hall. They haven't been demoted or fallen to an even more wretched place as they had hoped.

Another month or so passed, and Liu Yin spent her days teaching, researching new stories, and instructing court ladies. Her days were regular and comfortable, and she didn't notice at all that, as time went on, the storytellers she had arranged with Xu Mama had already spread "Candy".

As "Candy" spread more and more widely in various places, villages, markets, and towns, this simple and straightforward story about ordinary people became known and loved by more and more people, and was also accepted by the literati who came to brothels.

With the spread of "Candy," Liu Jianniang's name began to spread beyond the red-light district and to more distant places. More people knew that there was a teacher named Liu Jianniang in the red-light district of Huaicheng, who could play a pipa, write good lyrics and music, and write stories that ordinary people could understand.

Liu Yin had just finished writing a new story and was about to show it to Madam Liu when Lan Yan rushed in with a tray. Before Liu Yin could ask anything, Lan Yan hurriedly urged, "Miss, quickly change your clothes, and I'll redo your hair."

Liu Yin was taken aback by her antics. While being pulled to change clothes, she still asked, "What's wrong?"

"This servant doesn't know either. It was Aunt Qian who gave the order, saying that Miss should quickly change her clothes and go out with Madam to meet people." Lan Yan was very quick and efficient, speaking while her hands were busy.

Liu Yin followed her movements, raising her hand or turning around, feeling puzzled. Today wasn't a day for class or Qingyin Hall, so why was she suddenly changing clothes to go out? Looking down at her clothes, she saw a stone-green magnolia-patterned skirt with gold flecks, somewhat resembling the horse-face skirt from her previous life, and a red cinnabar-colored cardigan with wide sleeves and gold-inlaid jade buttons tightly binding her neck. The cardigan and cuffs were embroidered with magnolia flowers similar to the skirt. Lan Yan had then put a similar pale lilac-colored cover-up on her, before pulling her into a dignified and elegant updo and selecting several gold-inlaid jade hairpins to adorn her hair.

After she dressed up, she looked in the mirror with some surprise. She had never dressed so extravagantly before. In the upstairs, she was charming and alluring, but after coming to the Liu family, her attire became more casual. Her clothes and jewelry were simple in style and light in color. Seeing herself like this, she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. But before she could figure it out, Lan Yan interrupted her. After looking her up and down, Lan Yan was satisfied and saw her out.

When she arrived at the door, she found a magnificent carriage that she had never seen before, which was clearly luxurious, already waiting there. Aunt Qian greeted her apologetically, saying, "Please get in the carriage, young lady. I was in a hurry today and didn't tell you in advance."

Liu Yin naturally wouldn't hold a grudge against Aunt Qian over such a small matter. She quickly got into the car and then realized that Madam Liu was already waiting inside. She hurriedly sat down and asked curiously, "Mother, where are we going? Why are you taking this so seriously?"

"I'm going to see a distinguished person." Madam Liu smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes from getting into the carriage and said mysteriously. After that, no matter how much Liu Yin asked coquettishly, she just told Liu Yin to wait. Liu Yin had no choice but to sit there obediently and wait for the mystery to be revealed.

Along the way, she heard a lot of discussion about "Candy". She looked at Madam Liu with delight. Madam Liu looked at her and said softly, "Now that Liu Jianniang's name is well-known in Huaicheng, I think it's time to take you to meet someone."

Liu Yin became even more curious, but seeing that Madam Liu was really unwilling to talk, she could only give her a pitiful look before sitting down to listen to what was going on outside. As the discussions went on, she became even more curious about the reach of "Candy". She thought the manuscript would be a bit out of place, but she didn't expect it to be such a success.

Unbeknownst to her, while she was wondering how far her work could reach, a group of performers, consisting of talkers and rappers, were in Qincheng Prison next door processing their entry into the city.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Wang, welcome, welcome." A middle-aged man in casual clothes greeted the group with a happy expression.

"Boss Sun, it's been a long time. Thank you for the invitation." This group consisted of teams led by two bosses, and the man called Boss Lin came forward to greet them.

The group of people left together. From their conversation, it was learned that ever since the songs "Candy" and "Ambush from Ten Sides" became popular in Huaicheng, some people in Qincheng had also started to learn to sing them. Later, when they heard that Liu Jianniang's "Candy" even had storytellers and rappers, the storytellers and rappers in Qincheng became excited.

You should know that many of the stories they sang were passed down orally, and they were nothing more than stories of kings and generals. They did think about asking someone to help write some new stories, but the stories written by scholars and literati were too difficult for the common people to listen to, and the stories written by people who knew a few words were either about talented men and beautiful women or things that couldn't be said.

Therefore, there is an unspoken rule in the industry: if someone gets a good story, they must share it with others. When they learned that there was a new story in Huaicheng, and it was not only common but also novel and unprecedented, how could the people of Qincheng sit still? Boss Sun, who had a friend in Huaicheng, quickly sent a letter to ask someone to come over.

It's not that they're unwilling to learn themselves, but rather that it's an industry rule that someone can come to teach them, but they can't go to someone's house to learn by stealing information. That's why they called someone over.

Upon seeing the person arrive, they quickly invited them to a restaurant for a good meal before arranging the performance date.

"Boss Lin, Boss Wang, Qincheng and Huaicheng are a bit different. In Huaicheng, performers can perform anywhere on the streets and alleys, but we can't. We have special venues for us. Take a break, I've got someone to arrange the signboard. We'll take the stage tomorrow. The people of Qincheng have been waiting for this for a long time." After a few rounds of drinks, Boss Sun quickly informed them of his arrangements.

"We're all at ease leaving everything to Boss Sun," Boss Lin replied politely. The two cities of Qin and Huai were not far apart, and one night would be enough for them to rest.

The two groups dispersed after deciding on other stories besides "Candy".