How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

After Zhang Ziheng caught up, he quickly grabbed the furious Li Mozhu and asked, "Mozhu, what are you planning to do? Go and cause trouble at their door?"

“Of course I will go and argue with him,” Li Mozhu replied without hesitation.

“How are you going to explain this? This news is only circulating privately and hasn’t reached the public eye yet. What if they don’t admit it? You should know how many officials the Zhang family has in the capital. You and I may have some influence in Huaicheng, but we’re like ants trying to shake a tree when facing the Zhang family. We’re still studying. How can we go to their door over something so unfounded? Do you want to ruin your reputation? Your studies? Your family fortune?” Zhang Ziheng pulled Li Mozhu away from the crowd and into a nearby alley before whispering his advice to him.

“But…” Li Mozhu hesitated after hearing this. He himself could not care about the reputation of the academy, but for his parents who were hoping for his success, he dared not and could not bear to let their life’s work go to waste. However, when he thought of Zhang Yuanwai, who did not care about the law, he felt that he would not be able to stop him.

“You don’t need to rush. Let me think of a way. Take it slow. He won’t go digging up graves right away.” After pondering for a while, Zhang Ziheng had an idea. He whispered it to Li Mozhu and was about to pull him away.

Li Mozhu hesitated for a moment before leaving with them, but she was worried about Zhang Ziheng's plan. She could only pray that God would be more lenient and not let such evil people get their way.

Fortunately, God had a change of heart this time. Just a few days later, the wealthy man Zhang suddenly announced that he wanted to vindicate Liu Jianniang, the teacher. He specially invited the most talented lyricist and composer from Yongcheng, who was far away, to compete with Liu Jianniang in public.

This news naturally attracted the interest of the entire city, especially those who had heard of Liu Jianniang's name but had never seen her. Naturally, they wanted to take this opportunity to meet her and see if she was as beautiful as rumored. Some people also wanted to take this opportunity to get to know her and see if they could recruit her to teach the courtesans under their jurisdiction. It was precisely because everyone had their own purpose that the news became more and more widely known due to the instigation and obstruction of some people with ulterior motives.

Liu Yinlai was in seclusion writing a book when she received a letter from the Zhang family announcing their decision to move here. Now, Madam Liu is busy helping the Zhang family with some matters here, especially those involving things that only locals know. Of course, Liu Yinlai has also learned a lot from this experience.

Just as the two returned home after a busy day, they heard Lan Yan, who was at home, come to report: "Mother Xu from Qingyin Hall came over and said that the young lady must go there tomorrow afternoon because there is something important."

Liu Yin found it strange. The past two days were the time for instruction, so why was she suddenly called over? She asked Lan Yan a few more questions, but Lan Yan just shook her head and said she didn't know.

Seeing her like this, Liu Yin didn't press her for details. She had all sorts of speculations in her mind, wondering whether Xu Mama's visit was a good thing or a bad thing. But then she thought that she no longer had any leverage over her, so she put it aside and stopped thinking about it.

The next day, in the afternoon, she took Mei Wu to Qingyin Hall. Since there were too many maids in the house, she discussed with Madam Liu and decided that Lan Yan would be mainly responsible for making the mother and daughter's personal clothing and combing their hair. She would usually assist Aunt Qian. Zhu Mei was now managing the accounts more and more properly, so she would take over all the purchasing affairs of the house. As for Mei Wu, she would become Liu Yin's bodyguard when she went out. If she went to learn martial arts, Zhu Mei would accompany her.

When she brought Mei Wu to Qingyin Hall, Xu Mama was scolding a few newly bought maids, and Liu Yin followed along and watched.

There were six girls bought this time. According to Aunt Wang next to me, two of them were sold by their own family members. The younger one was only seven or eight years old, and the older one was about ten years old. The other four were bought by Xu Mama from a slave trader. They were all only twelve or thirteen years old.

As she spoke, Aunt Wang continued to complain, "It's all because of that story about the Education Bureau. Now, people around here are even less willing to sell their daughters. They only want to send them to wealthy families." Before she finished complaining, she added sarcastically, "Even if they're sent, someone will want them. In the end, they still end up in our hands. And they still look down on us. Do we have to look down on them? They all look like ugly gourds and cracked dates. Bah!"

After listening to her complaints, Liu Yin saw Xu Mama, who had finished scolding her, gesturing for her to come over. She took two steps, then stopped and said coldly to Aunt Wang, "Aunt, don't forget that you were one of them back then. You can't just climb out of the sea of ​​suffering now and forget how bitter it was in there, and then kick people into the sea."

She left as soon as she finished speaking, and Aunt Wang behind her was so angry that her face turned green. She didn't dare to offend this precious child in Mama Xu's heart, so she could only mutter under her breath, "She talks like she has the heart of a bodhisattva, but she's still doing that kind of thing of pushing people into the sea."

She thought she was speaking softly, but Liu Yin had sharp ears and heard everything she said. Her eyes filled with bitterness, and she couldn't help but curse herself inwardly: "Yes, what's the difference between me and Aunt Wang and the others now? Aren't I also pushing these girls into a fire pit?"

Looking at Xu's mother swaying in front of her, and thinking about what she had just heard, the vague thoughts that had been lingering in her mind became even more resolute. She was determined to completely break away from the brothel and do everything she could to help more girls.

"I called you here because I have something important to tell you." Xu's mother placed a note in front of Liu Yin, interrupting her thoughts.

Liu Yin picked up the post with some curiosity and started reading. After finishing, she looked at Xu's mother with a shocked expression: "This must be a joke..."

"What do you mean by joking? Didn't you see who the middleman is? That's Master Zhang. Do you think I could afford to invite him to play with you?" Xu's mother rolled her eyes at her after hearing this.

Liu Yin flung the invitation in her hand, her face full of disbelief: "No way, are you sick? I can understand that you want to compete with me because you doubt me, but to set up a huge stage on the biggest street in the prefectural city and invite those powerful and influential people to judge is just ridiculous. And they're willing to do that?"

This post was for the competition between Liu Jianniang and Liu Jiaosi of Qingyin Hall. It even clearly stated the time, the middleman, and the judges. In particular, upon closer inspection, the judges were all big shots in Huaicheng. Liu Yin couldn't understand it at all. No matter how nicely she and her opponent were described, they were both from brothels. How could they get these people to stand up for them?

Madam Xu rolled her eyes at her before speaking: "I was also startled, but the seal on this post is correct, and I had someone inquire. A few days ago, a group of people from Yongcheng entered Master Zhang's mansion. Although I don't know how he managed to get these people involved, there might be some kind of conflict of interest between them. I'm afraid they're up to no good. So what do you think?"

Looking at the post, Liu Yin felt as if a herd of alpacas were galloping through her mind. She gave a bitter smile: "What can I think? Such a big deal is not something a small priest like me can refuse. Just agree, just agree."

Mrs. Xu looked at her and paused slightly before saying, "Have you thought this through? What if someone recognizes you then..."

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Yin said as if she had made up her mind, "I'm not afraid. I haven't shown my face much in the past in order to sell myself at a good price. It's been several months, so they've probably already forgotten about me."

"Since you say so, then I'll go and agree." Xu's mother asked several more times, still not entirely at ease. Only after Liu Yin confirmed her agreement did she turn around and instruct someone to send a message.

Liu Yin had no idea that the involvement of so many important figures was not arranged by Master Xu. He was filled with bitterness and looked at the woman standing in his study with trepidation, constantly wiping the sweat from his brow.