How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"I see..." After listening to Madam Liu finish explaining everything, Liu Yin nodded in understanding.

It turns out that Madam Liu, Mama Xu, and the mother from Yanxia Courtyard all grew up in the same building.

From a young age, she was personally trained by the madam because of her outstanding appearance and intelligence, while Xu Mama and the madam of Yanxia Courtyard were handed over to the Ministry of Education because of their slightly inferior qualities.

Like Qingyin, she became a renowned courtesan in Qinhuai upon her debut after growing up, and on the day she was officially recognized, she was even noticed by a wealthy merchant.

Because the wealthy merchant was generous and open-minded, and specifically requested that she be the only customer, even though she was in the second-class brothel, she was treated like a first-class customer. In fact, the wealthy merchant personally arranged a scheme for her, raising her status and making her a first-class courtesan.

Although Xu's mother was not bad-looking back then, she was quite naive. Although some customers liked her, she was still not satisfied and secretly hired an actor. She even paid out of her own pocket to set up a brothel to maintain appearances for the actor.

She was eventually discovered by the madam and nearly beaten to death. It was Madam Liu, who had become a first-class courtesan, who saved her when she returned to the brothel to visit her fellow courtesans that day. From then on, she devoted herself to following Madam Liu until later when the brothel redeemed itself and, at Madam Liu's suggestion, opened Qingyin Hall. The madam of Yanxia Courtyard was not much different from her.

That's why Liu Yin heard Xu's mother say a few days ago that she wanted to repay the kindness.

Afterwards, Madam Liu was redeemed by a wealthy merchant and kept in this small courtyard as a concubine.

Later, she became pregnant and gave birth to a lovely daughter. Unfortunately, the girl was born with some deformities and was physically weak. Although she loved her daughter dearly, the wealthy merchant suspected that she herself was not clean and that was why she had given birth to such a child.

Because although she was in the mortal world, she had not suffered much hardship, and she suddenly got into a fight with the wealthy merchant. If she hadn't fought, she might have just ended up being ignored.

But she stubbornly refused to back down back then, being naive and headstrong. The other party was a wealthy merchant who was always sought after and would never lower himself to her level. Moreover, she had been bedridden since giving birth and her beauty was not what it used to be. If she tried to please him with her looks, she would be abandoned. From that day on, the wealthy merchant took all his servants away, leaving her only a small courtyard, and never came back.

Since that wealthy merchant left, she has become increasingly strapped for cash. Fortunately, she is quite talented and helped Qingyin Hall and Yanxia Academy grow. She contributed her share and took on the duties of a teacher, which gradually made her more financially secure. Through several ups and downs, she has finally achieved her current state of mind.

She had intended to stay with her daughter for the rest of her life, but her daughter passed away a month ago. Overwhelmed with grief, she was bedridden for a time. Just then, a wealthy merchant sent someone to ask to see her daughter. Although she no longer loved him, she couldn't help but feel resentful thinking about how he had abandoned her for so many years. So she decided to find an imposter and get some money from him to settle her old score.

Later, with the help of several friends, they searched for her in brothels. The reason for looking for someone from such a background was that most of the girls were sold into brothels, with no relatives or friends, and no one knew them, so they were easy to manipulate. The other reason was that the girl was not too old and already knew about sex, so helping her escape her suffering would be a great favor.

It just so happened that Qingyin proposed to change her identity because of her disfigurement. Xu's mother had always felt that Qingyin resembled her daughter, so she took the opportunity to bring her a portrait to see. As soon as she saw the portrait, she felt that she looked like her daughter. She was even more satisfied after seeing the real person.

"I know your original surname is Zhang, but now that you've acknowledged me as your mother, it would be better to change it. I didn't feel comfortable asking you about it in front of your mother the other day, so I had to let you change it first. Now you can tell me if you're willing to change your name?" Madam Liu said with a smile, looking at Liu Yin's scarred face. Although she felt a little regretful that the other person's face was disfigured, she thought that this demeanor and flaw were also a handle that she could use against the other person, so she didn't feel anything.

"If the surname is Liu, how about naming our daughter Liu Yin? Jian Niang will still be your daughter's name." Liu Yin was delighted to hear this. She had wanted to discuss with Madam Liu about changing her name to Liu Yin before, while the name Jian Niang would still belong to Madam Liu's daughter.

“Good child, don’t worry about these things. The name Jianniang was chosen to help her stay healthy. The name Yinzhi matches your nickname Qingyin, which might lead people to make certain associations. How about we use Yin’er as your pet name and Jianniang as your courtesy name? As for your formal name, you can choose another one.” Madam Liu smiled. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to use the name to remember her daughter, but over the years, her feelings for her child had slowly faded in the torment of day and night. Rather than remembering her, she would rather use this name to gain Qingyin’s closeness. Besides, that child didn’t like the name Jianniang; she only liked the pet name her father gave her.

"Alright, I'll listen to Mother. There's no need for a formal name. Anyway, I'm not young anymore, and I won't be called by my given name in public. My courtesy name is enough." Liu Yin thought about it and realized she quite liked her given name. Besides, she didn't dislike the name Liu Jianniang, so this was fine.

"Alright, we've talked quite a bit, you must be tired. Have dinner with me and then go rest. I'll also decorate your room to your liking." Madam Liu smiled, took Liu Yin's hand, and led her to the dining room on the side.

The houses are always cramped and compact, so it's not surprising that the dining room and the main hall are not separated. A curtain in the middle is enough. Without thinking much about it, Liu Yin sat down at the table with Madam Liu.

The table was already set with food, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, which looked very abundant. But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be very simple: a smoked chicken, a steamed fish, a dish of fermented bean curd, and a plate of stir-fried greens.

It may seem like a simple, home-style meal, but in an era when most ordinary people still struggle to get enough to eat, this meal is something that only wealthy families can afford.

Even so, some moderately wealthy families could only afford such a lavish meal during festivals. Looking at the dishes on the table, Liu Yin knew that this was also a gesture of goodwill from Madam Liu.

After lunch, Madam Liu looked somewhat tired, so Liu Yin followed her lead and went back to her room, where she happened to see Aunt Qian waiting there, seemingly having waited for quite some time.

"Aunt Qian, is something the matter?" Liu Yin was taken aback when she saw her.

“Miss, firstly, Madam will introduce you to people later, and secondly, please allow this old servant to tidy up your room,” Aunt Qian replied with a bow.

“Okay, no need to change the room, I like it very much.” Liu Yin nodded in agreement before refusing.

"That's good. There are few people in our house now, just Zhang Ma who cooks, the old servant, and Liu the old woman who guards the gate. Liu and I are both widows and live in the house. Zhang Ma only comes here to prepare meals and goes home on other days. There's no need for you to go and see her. Just have them come and kowtow later, and you can just glance at them. Also, I heard that you will be teaching at Qingyin Hall every day, and Madam specifically instructed that a maid be arranged for you. I wonder if you would like to bring one from the hall?"

Hearing this, Liu Yin couldn't help but ponder for a moment. Although she didn't like being served, there were many clothes that she couldn't wear by herself. It would be nice to have someone help her comb her hair, change her clothes, and clean her room regularly.

Thinking of Qiao Gu, who had served her before, she wanted to help her, but the thought of Qiao Gu's big mouth gave her a headache. Qiao Gu was really not suitable to stay by her side. If she exposed the relationship between Qing Yin and Liu Jian Niang, all her efforts would be in vain. After thinking it over, she could only refuse: "Forget it, Aunt Qian, help me find someone. Jiao Jie'er is not good at keeping secrets, so she is not suitable."

Before Liu Yin could say anything more, Aunt Qian continued in a detailed and detailed manner: "Anything is fine, whatever you wish for, Miss. This old servant knows your worries, but don't worry about things at home. Neither I nor Old Madam Liu, one is old and nearing death, and the other is deeply grateful for Madam's kindness, will say anything. Only Zhang Ma has relatives, but she has never seen you speak well, and you're tight-lipped. Also, there's something else. Madam sent you some medicine for your wounds. Remember to apply it. Your facial injury is too obvious, and people will inevitably associate it with what happened before. Although the medicine won't completely heal you, it will make the wound much less noticeable. You can then cover it up with makeup..."

"Okay, thank you for your help, Aunt Qian." Liu Yin listened to Aunt Qian's instructions with a smile, without showing the slightest impatience. She knew that this was the Liu family's way of showing her kindness.

Before Aunt Qian took her leave, Liu Yin suddenly remembered her arrangements and called her back, saying, "Aunt Qian, starting the day after tomorrow, I will be going to Qingyin Hall to teach every day at noon. I would also appreciate it if you could help me prepare some writing materials so that I can write some songs."

“Alright, then please wait a moment, young lady. This old servant will bring it over in a little while, but it would be better to delay for a couple more days. I’ll go and bring you a maid tomorrow,” Aunt Qian said.

“Okay, I’ll listen to Mother.” Liu Yin nodded.

The next day, Liu Yin was sitting at the small table reading when she heard a knock at the door. Aunt Qian pushed the door open and came in: "Miss, Madam asked me to ask you if you have any requirements for the maid."

"The requirements are..." Liu Yin thought for a moment, "They're tight-lipped... Hmm, maybe I should go with them."

As soon as Liu Yin finished speaking, she realized that she had been in this era for almost a month and hadn't gone out to play yet. Why not take this opportunity to go out and have some fun together?

"This..." Aunt Qian paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and said to Liu Yin, "It's not impossible. Let this old servant inform the madam and have the young lady put on a veil before we go out."

"Okay." Liu Yin nodded happily, and seeing Aunt Qian turn around, she hurriedly went back to the wardrobe to change into her clothes for going out.

The two servants did not go out directly. Firstly, it would be inconvenient for a lone woman to walk through the red-light district, and secondly, the human market was in the east of the city, which was quite far from here.

Aunt Qian made Liu Yin wait a moment and then called a sedan chair from a nearby sedan chair shop. The group rode in the sedan chair, swaying and wobbling, towards the East City Market.

Although Qinhuai and Liangfu are major cities in Jiangnan, always bustling and prosperous, with clean streets and wide roads, the Renshi (people's market) seemed to be in another time and space. Although it could be considered clean, the roadsides were full of people in tattered clothes, sitting, standing, or lying down, with straw tags stuck in the back of their necks. They were skin and bones, and their faces were numb. The women were slightly better off, as they had some cloth to cover their bodies, but the men were in a worse state. Some of them were even naked, only covered by some straw.

Liu Yin cautiously peered out through the car window curtain, and at that moment, the most cruel and tragic scene of this era burst into her eyes without any concealment.

"Get out!" A furious shout suddenly interrupted her speechless, shocked thoughts.

Looking over, not far away, a middle-aged man dressed neatly but in inferior fabric, with an arrogant expression, was kicking a girl who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, while cursing.

From his cursing, Liu Yin understood that the man wanted to buy the girl's younger sister, but the girl wanted to be with her sister and refused, clinging to her sister and refusing to let go. That's when the man kicked her away.

"What does the girl want to do?" Liu Yin saw that the girl had been kicked in the heart and had even coughed up blood. She quickly called for the car to stop and was about to get out, but was stopped by Aunt Qian.

"Aunt Qian, that girl..." Liu Yin looked anxiously at her daughter, wanting Aunt Qian to let her go, but found that Aunt Qian looked at her disapprovingly and shook her head.

"Let's go." Aunt Qian pulled Liu Yin over and gave instructions to the sedan chair bearers before saying to Liu Yin, "Miss, it's not that this old servant is unwilling to save that child, but firstly, that man is the steward of the prefect's gate, and we of our status really can't afford to offend him; secondly, that girl looks like she's already beyond saving. Even if you kindly bring her into the manor today, she won't live for more than a few days. Why make yourself so sad, Miss? Besides..."

Aunt Qian paused, then looked at Liu Yin with some reluctance and said, "Besides, young lady, there are too many miserable people in this world. You can't save them all, nor can you help them all. Hardening your heart will make you happier."

“But…” Liu Yin glanced at Aunt Qian with some dejection, swallowed, and wanted to question her, “Aren’t you also a tragic person who was rescued by Madam Liu?” But after thinking about it, she couldn’t bear to touch the other’s sore spot. She watched the girl being dragged away like a dead dog, her heart filled with confusion and sadness.

As she watched the girl's figure, her thoughts drifted to the girl she had seen earlier who had been tortured to death by Prince Choi, and the small figure that had been sent there...