How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"What did the person watching say?" Prince Choi asked without looking up when he heard someone enter. He looked down at the letter in his hand.

"Who are you? You bastard! What have you had someone do this time?" A deep, angry voice rang out.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Prince Cui quickly looked up and saw the person who had arrived. His face paled with fright, and he hurriedly walked from his desk to the man, bowed, and then said in a flustered manner, "Father... I don't know why Father has returned?"

"You worthless wretch! I told you to act all docile in the capital, but you went and provoked Princess Ding'an. I told you to go back to Huaicheng and keep an eye on Nanshan, but you just stayed there indulging in prostitutes!" This middle-aged man was none other than the current Prince Anle. He slapped his son in a fit of rage before continuing to berate him, "Ever since your grandfather passed away, I've seen you become even more despicable!"

"Father, my visits to prostitutes are merely a cover. I fear that person is watching us, and this is the reason I can frequently leave the city. I beg you to investigate, Father." Prince Cui knew his father's temperament well and was unwilling to admit it, so he naturally told him the excuse he had already prepared.

Looking at his eldest son, who had grown up with the old King Anle since childhood, King Anle felt nothing but disappointment. He knew all too well what kind of good-for-nothing his son was, but thinking of his seven daughters and his only son, he could only suppress his anger and whispered a warning: "Don't play innocent with your old man. Do you think you can get away with the matter of Princess Ding'an so easily? Is she really that fond of you? It was something your old man had to sacrifice most of our family fortune to obtain!"

Without waiting for Prince Cui to say anything, he continued, "Also, you just said to send someone to keep an eye on someone. Who are you keeping an eye on? Don't tell me it's one of your dirty secrets from your bed."

Seeing that he had relaxed, Prince Cui dared not bring up what had just happened and quickly followed up on the topic, saying, "I have discovered that Zuo Mingyuan is quite interested in a woman from Yong'an Lane, and I have just learned that..." He then relayed what Zuo Mingyuan had told him to Prince Anle.

King Anle squinted and scrutinized him carefully before saying, "Alright, she's just a woman. As for Cui Heng, he's nothing but a lowly bastard. Even if he takes over the Wanlong Trading Company from back then, what's there to fear? You just focus on handling the Nanshan matter. If you succeed, these are all ants."

Prince Cui nodded repeatedly, respectfully indicating that he would keep a close eye on the situation at Nanshan. Then, he raised his head slightly and tentatively asked Prince Anle, "I wonder why Father is not stationed in the capital?"

Upon hearing this, the King of Anle's face immediately filled with anger: "It's that person again. I don't know why he suddenly issued an edict ordering me to lead a men to patrol the border. I just happened to be passing through Huaicheng, so I came to see you, you scoundrel."

"Border patrol?" Prince Cui frowned and asked anxiously, "This border patrol won't end for at least a year or two. Could it be that Father has discovered something?"

"No, he's just a good-for-nothing. If I hadn't intervened back then, he would have been dead long ago. He wouldn't be able to patrol the border anymore. This is a good opportunity for me to place my own people here." King Anle shook his head and looked at him with a furrowed brow, scolding him, "As for you, I'm going back to continue my patrol soon. You stay here and do what I've told you to do. Don't cause me any trouble. You can kill as many women as you want in brothels, just don't make too much of a commotion."

Prince Cui naturally agreed in every way, but he still kept the matter of Zuo Mingyuan and Liu Yin in mind. He was just waiting for Prince Anle to leave the next day so that he could have Steward Zhao summon them for questioning. Prince Anle didn't care about his thoughts. In his opinion, a woman couldn't cause any real trouble; at worst, he could just kill her.

Meanwhile, Liu Yin frowned, thinking about the man called Master Zuo. She really couldn't be sure whether he was friend or foe. She thought about what he said about returning tonight, and then about the group of defenseless women in her family. After thinking for a long time, she finally went to Madam Liu's room: "Is Mother asleep?"

"No, is there anything you need, Sword Maiden?" Madam Liu responded loudly and then beckoned Liu Yin inside.

When Liu Yin entered, she found Madam Liu reading her manuscript. Without hesitation, she said, "Mother, why don't you take some people to stay with your master tonight?"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Madam Liu looked at her strangely after hearing this.

“Today, that Prince Cui summoned me but didn’t see me. I’m worried he might cause trouble tonight and disturb Mother. Perhaps Mother should take some people to Master’s place for a while, so I can feel more at ease.” Liu Yin said to Madam Liu, revealing the excuse she had prepared long ago.

Madam Liu wasn't entirely unconvinced, after all, Prince Cui's reputation in Huaicheng was utterly ruined, and he had done things like going to fetch someone in the middle of the night before. However, she couldn't help but worry about the fact that Liu Yin was alone at home.

Seeing her like this, Liu Yin could only persuade her again: "Mother, don't worry. I have Mei Wu with me. Even if something happens, the two of us can hide. It's better than the whole family. Besides, Mother can bring Luanqin back to me from Master's place tomorrow."

After hearing this, Madam Liu had no choice but to nod in agreement. Seeing that it was getting late, she quickly called Aunt Qian in to help give her a few instructions. She then took Aunt Qian, Lan Yan, and Zhu Mei to Madam An's residence. Before leaving, she carefully instructed Liu Yin with some concern: "Don't be too tough on those powerful people. Sometimes, it's not a loss of dignity to soften your stance."

"Don't worry, Mother, I know what I'm doing." Liu Yin reassured her a few more times before watching her leave. After she left, she looked at Mei Wu, who was guarding her, and said, "Mei Wu, I haven't been sleeping very well these past few days. You don't need to serve me personally. You can sleep in the side room next door."

Mei Wu was always honest and loyal, and he never questioned her orders. He nodded in agreement as well.

After everything was arranged, Liu Yin prepared tea in the room and waited silently for the arrival of Master Zuo.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that she heard a rustling sound. Before she could look around, she heard a soft 'bang' from the side room. She immediately thought of Mei Wu next door, hurriedly opened the door and rushed over, just in time to bump into Zuo Mingyuan who was coming out.

Seeing her happy expression, Zuo Mingyuan was about to say something when Liu Yin ignored him, pushed him aside, went inside to help Mei Wu, who had fallen to the ground, and turned to glare at him: "What did you do to Mei Wu?"

"Princess...Princess...I...I just knocked her unconscious, it's alright, it'll be fine tomorrow." Zuo Mingyuan seemed to be stung by the defensiveness and vigilance in her eyes, and his words became somewhat stammering.

Relieved, Liu Yin pulled Mei Wu up and tried to put her on the bed. Zuo Mingyuan rushed forward to help, but Liu Yin looked at him warily and refused, saying, "No need, you go and wait in the courtyard first."

Zuo Mingyuan seemed completely unprepared for Liu Yin's wariness towards him, and could only nod in disappointment, retreating to the courtyard to wait. Liu Yin then laboriously placed Mei Wu on the bed before closing the door and coming into the courtyard.