How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Quickly, quickly, bring over a stool, Cao'er, bring over some water, and Liu'er, help Jiao Si take the zither over." As soon as Liu Yin stepped off the stage, Mama Xu came up to greet her and hurriedly directed the people below to make Liu Yin more comfortable.

"Alright, alright, it's not that tiring." Seeing how busy she was, Liu Yin quickly offered to decline a few times.

"Alright, let her go about her business. Drink some water; your voice sounds a bit hoarse. This is a prescription I specially got from your master; it's best for your throat," Madam Liu patted her hand and said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, you should rest." Mrs. Xu replied with a smile.

Liu Yin then smiled and sat down on the stool to enjoy the herbal tea in her hand. The warm tea, with its medicinal aroma, entered her throat, immediately making her slightly dry and sore throat feel much better. She couldn't help but exclaim, "This tea is really good stuff, it makes me feel so much better."

Madam Liu looked at her with eyes full of affection: "That's right, this is your master's private collection. If it weren't for you this time, your master probably wouldn't have been willing to part with it."

Liu Yin looked up at Madam Liu, who had been with her all day, and felt comforted. She couldn't help but joke, "I think this is a gift from my master's mother. I don't have that much face."

"You, you!" Madam Liu couldn't help but roll her eyes at her.

The two sat for only a short while before bidding farewell to Madam Xu. Madam Xu didn't say anything else, but seemed hesitant when she looked at Liu Yin. Liu Yin already had a guess in her mind. She wanted to speak directly, but thinking about Madam Xu's past behavior, she thought for a moment and ultimately said nothing.

Seeing that Liu Yin was only smiling and not speaking, Xu Mama knew that if she didn't speak, she probably wouldn't get what she wanted. She opened her mouth to speak, but Xu Yueling next to her tugged at her clothes and stopped her: "Master Liu and Aunt Liu should go back and rest well. If there is anything later, I will have the maids invite them."

Liu Yin looked at Xu Yueling and her heart stirred. Staring at her ambitious eyes, she instantly understood. Thinking of Xu Yueling's past character, she came up with an idea and replied with a smile, "Alright, these days are not teaching days, so I'll rest at home for now. If there's anything at the hall, just come find me." Without waiting for the mother and daughter to say anything more, she helped Madam Liu out and into the carriage.

As soon as she left, Xu's mother's face immediately turned cold, and she looked at Xu Yueling with a rather unfriendly gaze: "What? You dare to make decisions for me now?" Before she finished speaking, she raised her hand and slapped Xu Yueling across the face.

Xu Yueling covered her face, lowered her head to hide the hatred in her eyes, and then looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes. She patiently explained, "I dare not. I know what you think, Mother. I also hope that you and Qingyintang can get along. It's just that we and Instructor Liu have eased our relationship. Now that she has just finished the competition and hasn't even had a chance to rest, I'm afraid that I might upset her again."

Xu's mother stared intently at her face, her expression showing no improvement. Then, as if remembering something, she softened her expression, took Xu Yueling's hand, and comforted her, "I was wrong to blame you. Did I hurt you?"

Xu Yueling dared not say that she was in pain, and only said, "It's alright, it's alright. I know that my mother was just worried."

Only then did Mrs. Xu put aside her suspicions about Xu Yueling and comforted her with a smile: "Mother knows you are doing this for the good of the family, but you should know some rules when you're out there. There's no need to worry too much about Liu Jianniang. The contract is there, and she will give me what is due. Whether she's happy or not doesn't matter. Whether I ask her today or not doesn't matter either. Once the song is sung, whoever sings it doesn't need her to tell them."

After finishing her sentence, Xu's mother stopped looking at Xu Yueling's expression, turned around and directed everyone to pack up their belongings and send them back to Qingyin Hall. Then she said to Xu Yueling, "Alright, since you made an appointment with her to see her in a few days, then we'll talk about it then. You watch these clumsy people take their things back and put them away properly. I have other things to do."

Xu Yueling obediently agreed, watching her mother leave before touching her cheek again. The resentment in her eyes had already spread across her face. She muttered to herself, "What good daughter? She's just a tool. You taught my mother that if you want something, you have to fight and snatch it by any means necessary. Back then, Yinling and I fought for your favor, then for the brothel, and now it's you and me fighting. Don't blame me."

Looking into the distance, she made up her mind and said to the people who were packing, "You all pack first, I'm going out to buy something. If I don't come back soon, you can go back first." Without waiting for Aunt Wang to stop her, she turned and headed towards her destination.

Aunt Wang and the others looked at each other helplessly. After all, this was no ordinary courtesan; it wasn't the first time she had gone out without a large teapot. They were afraid that if they complained, Madam Xu would think they were stirring up trouble, so they had no choice but to let her be.

The mother and daughter Liu Yin in the carriage were unaware of the argument between the mother and daughter Xu. Madam Liu looked at Liu Yin, smiled, and put her arm around her, rubbing her head: "Xu Yanyan must have come for your songs. What do you want to do?"

"It's not my place to make arrangements. Mother, just watch. These songs will be playing in the red-light district in less than three days." Liu Yin closed her eyes to rest, not caring. In this era, there was no such thing as intellectual property rights. Even if you didn't teach others a newly released song, you couldn't cause trouble if others learned it. It was perfectly normal for a song to spread to every household.

"I'm afraid Xu Yanyan wants you to announce to the public that the song is only for her." Madam Liu wasn't unaware of this, but she knew Xu Yanyan's personality too well, so she was somewhat worried.

"She can't possibly stop her. I won't need to say anything; someone will come looking for her. There's never been such a rule in brothels." Liu Yin waved her hand dismissively, showing no fear whatsoever.

Seeing this, Madam Liu was still somewhat worried. She had always found it strange that Xu Yanyan's methods back then were not what one would expect from someone who could run Qingyintang. However, she had not found any signs of someone behind Qingyintang over the years, but she still felt uneasy.

After putting the topic aside, she seemed to remember something and asked, "I was just about to ask this. This last round really startled me. I thought the topic 'The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits' would be about the way of the sages, but Xue Dajia actually started singing 'The Mountain Spirit.' I was afraid you wouldn't be able to keep up."

"Mother, please rest assured. I had already guessed that the question was not so simple." Liu Yin opened her eyes, sat up, looked at Madam Liu, and explained her speculation with a smile.

Madam Liu suddenly realized: "I was wondering why. At the time, I felt that the rule change was too sudden, but somehow it seems to be in your favor."

"That's what my mother thought after seeing the result. She thought that if it were an ordinary word girl, she would definitely go astray if she encountered a sudden change in the rules and was given such a strange question. Even if she could react in time, she wouldn't be able to do it so easily and would naturally lose."

"Didn't you say that Madam Xue also looked surprised? If she was also unaware, then wouldn't this problem be difficult for you two as well?" Madam Liu still felt a little strange.

"That's what I thought at the time, but now that I think about it, I think her surprise wasn't at the question itself, but at the question itself," Liu Yin recalled the other person's expression at the time and replied firmly.

"What's the difference?" she asked, making Madam Liu even more puzzled.

"Yes." Liu Yin smiled before continuing to explain, "When the rules were changed, she didn't seem too surprised. I suspect that the rule change was within her expectations. According to the original plan, she couldn't guarantee that she would win against me in six games, so she had to make a guarantee. I suspect that the rule change and the arrangement of the questions were both in her original plan, but they were brought forward now."

"Then what was she surprised about?"

"What if the questions on the spot are different from the ones she had prepared beforehand?" Liu Yin recalled the interactions between her opponent and Master Xu throughout the competition, and became more and more certain of her guess.

"But why?" Madam Liu suddenly understood after hearing this, but she was still a little confused.

"Yes, why did they suddenly change the topic? Aren't they afraid that Madam Xue will lose this competition? If I'm not mistaken, all their methods are for the sake of winning, unless there was a mistake that forced them to lose?" Liu Yin was also full of questions.