How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

A gentle autumn breeze stirred up fallen leaves, causing them to dance in the air. The once bustling and noisy streets of Huaicheng were now unusually quiet.

"Who do you think this Master Xue is?"

"Never heard of him, but since he's called a 'master,' I suppose he's someone like that." The person who replied gave a thumbs up.

"Whether she's good or not, look, she's already started auditioning." Another person pointed to Madam Xue and her apprentice, who were holding the pipa and repeatedly practicing on the stage.

"Oh dear, I'm so anxious! Why is Instructor Liu still staring at that piece of paper?" Another young man stamped his feet in frustration.

"Yeah, yeah, Professor Yanagi won't just admit defeat right away, will he..."

The anxiety of the people below the stage did not reach Liu Yin on the stage. She was not simply staring blankly at the paper, but was thinking about what content would be more impressive. After all, the other party had already written about the life-saving grace, and it was impossible for her to win over the other party with the lyrics she had thought about for a long time with the lyrics she wrote on the spot. As for the other gratitude to her parents, it was a bit far-fetched, and she felt that the gratitude to her teacher was not enough. Without any thoughts, she looked up and saw the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy drinking tea and chatting with Governor Qian next to him. She suddenly felt that literature and martial arts should not be written together, so she picked up her pen and began to write on the paper.

"Look, look! Instructor Liu has started writing!" The moment she made that, the anxious people in the audience immediately became excited.

"It seems Instructor Liu has an idea." Looking over, the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy stroked his beard and said to Governor Qian with a smile.

"I wonder if we can beat the formidable Xue family." Governor Qian glanced at Master Xu, who was sitting on the side of the platform, as soon as he finished speaking.

“Sometimes, no amount of preparation can compare to a flash of inspiration.” The headmaster of Wenyuan Academy glanced at the same spot before adding meaningfully.

Governor Qian raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, then looked at Liu Yin before asking the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy with a puzzled expression, "What? You bet she would win?"

"Whether she wins or not is not important; what matters is that she doesn't win." The headmaster of Wenyuan Academy maintained his inscrutable demeanor.

However, Governor Qian understood what he meant. They didn't care whether Liu Yin won or not, as long as Xue Dajia didn't win. This left him somewhat confused. After all, in his view, if one of them won, the other would definitely lose. As for both of them losing... Thinking of this, he realized what was going on, glanced at the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy next to him, and couldn't help but curse him inwardly as an 'old fox'.

Seeing that he understood, the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy smiled, looked at the platform, and said nothing more.

Although Prince Cui did not hear the conversation between the two, he noticed their close relationship and naturally understood that they were likely allies. He looked at the prefect beside him, recalled his information, but could not guess who was behind them. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy and Governor Qian before smiling at the prefect: "Lord Sun, what do you think of today's competition results?"

Prefect Sun seemed surprised that Prince Cui would speak to him, and hurriedly replied with a flattered expression, "Your Highness, I dare not speculate." Then, as if afraid that Prince Cui would be dissatisfied, he continued to explain, "I am not very knowledgeable about music theory, but Instructor Liu is younger and I am afraid he is slightly inferior."

After hearing this, Prince Cui raised an eyebrow and looked at Prefect Sun with a playful expression before continuing, "I have some questions. I wonder if Prefect Sun could answer them?"

Prefect Sun, still looking apprehensive, repeatedly replied, "Of course, of course. If Your Highness has any questions, please feel free to ask me. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."

"To be honest, I was just bored. The headmaster was a student who petitioned to ensure the fairness of the competition, and Governor Qian was trying to maintain order. But I don't know why Lord Sun is involved here?" Prince Cui seemed completely unconcerned that his blunt question might have surprised the other party. He just looked at the other party with amusement, as if waiting for an explanation.

Prefect Sun was indeed taken aback by his question, but whether it was due to his experience or genuine fear, he maintained his apprehensive demeanor, his face still showing hesitation, as if he didn't know whether he should speak or not. He looked up at Prince Cui, then lowered his head and pondered for a long time before gritting his teeth and replying, "This humble official has come for Lady Xue."

"Huh?" Prince Cui was taken aback by these words. He thought the other party would come up with some official excuse, but he didn't expect the other party to be so straightforward. He couldn't help but show curiosity and asked, "I wonder if Lord Sun would be willing to explain in detail?"

Lord Sun blushed slightly, seemingly finding it difficult to speak. Only when he saw that Prince Cui was staring at him as if he wouldn't let him off the hook until he spoke did he continue with a face full of embarrassment: "My father once met Lady Xue and has been thinking about her ever since. I hope that after this is over, I can invite Lady Xue to the manor for a meeting."

"Your father...? He must be sixty years old, right?" Prince Cui looked incredulously at Xue Dajia, who looked no more than thirty or forty years old and still had a charming appearance, and then at Lord Sun, who was already over forty. He couldn't help but laugh and teased, "Even if you were talking about yourself, I wouldn't laugh at you. It's perfectly normal for a refined gentleman to have a few female confidantes."

Prefect Sun's face turned green, and he gritted his teeth and couldn't help but defend himself: "He is indeed my father, but he is my stepfather, and he is fifty-six years old this year."

Seeing his embarrassed expression, Prince Cui remembered the information he had found about the prefect and immediately realized what was going on. He laughed even harder, and of course, he didn't forget to clasp his hands and apologize to Prefect Sun: "Please don't blame me, please don't blame me. It was my oversight, Lord Sun. My apologies."

Seeing this, Prefect Sun's face turned even greener, but he had no choice. He had lost his father at a young age and was raised by his widowed mother. Later, his widowed mother was determined to remarry a stepfather who was only a few years older than him, and he could only grit his teeth and agree. After his mother passed away, he had to take care of this stepfather out of filial piety. He had kept this matter a secret all along. He did not want to use this reason today, but he knew that no matter what excuse he gave, the other party would not believe him. They would even try to find him to cooperate under various pretexts. He had already learned from the Third Prince that the Anle Prince's Mansion was going to suffer, so he was unwilling to have anything to do with them.

Rather than let the other party keep pestering him, he preferred to expose his family's dirty laundry so that the other party would have no choice but to ask further questions. Sure enough, after Prince Choi laughed, he stopped asking other questions and instead turned to look at the stage.

Just as Prefect Sun had thought, he looked down on Prefect Sun. He had previously thought that Prefect Sun was participating in the competition because he was following the orders of his master and wanted to form an alliance to secure a future for his family. Little did he know that the other party's purpose was so ridiculous and absurd. Thinking about the absurd parents and harem in the other party's information, he felt that he was also confused. Was such a person worth lowering himself to win over?

The conversation between these people did not affect the stage at all; in a short time, both sides on stage had already begun sound checks.