How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Mother, what do you think of this book?" Liu Yin handed her completed manuscript to Madam Liu that day.

Madam Liu examined the book carefully for a long time before looking at Liu Yin with some hesitation: "Sword Maiden, your book is indeed well-written, but..."

"What's wrong, Mother?" Liu Yin asked, somewhat puzzled.

“This book is different from the ‘Biographies of a Hundred Flowers.’ That book is ultimately about us women, but this book you wrote about the struggles in officialdom is really… really…” Madam Liu looked at the manuscript and didn’t know how to put it.

"Insidious, vicious, and foolish." Liu Yin looked at the void with a mocking expression, and suddenly uttered a sentence, "So the darkest place in the world is the officialdom."

"Politics is a man's business, and it involves official matters, so it's really not suitable..." Madam Liu smiled at her, carrying the manuscript with a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Mother. I need to write the 'Biographies of a Hundred Flowers' first. Let's leave this book there for now and talk about it later." Liu Yin touched the other's brow and smiled. "But, politics doesn't discriminate between men and women."

"Your first book of ten stories caused quite a stir. Now the whole city is full of your Blue Rose Dodder stories. Your uncle is really looking forward to your next stories." Seeing that she was no longer pressing the issue, Madam Liu smiled and changed the subject.

"That's good. Tell my uncle that I've finished writing the last twenty stories, and ask him to arrange for someone to pick them up later." Liu Yin fiddled with her fingers, saying with a hint of boredom, "I wonder what everyone likes. Do they like the twisted pain and struggle of those women?"

“Nonsense.” Madam Liu patted her lightly. “You’ve actually done a great job. The influence of this book is more impactful than you think. Do you know that fewer and fewer girls are being sold into brothels these days, while more and more women are choosing to redeem themselves and start their own small businesses?”

"Really?" Liu Yin sat up with a look of joy on her face.

"Of course, the Blue Rose in your book is full of pride. Even when she is tortured and forced to work as a prostitute, she finds every opportunity to leave the brothel. In particular, the phrase 'freedom is more important than life' has become a favorite saying of many young people."

"And there's the dodder in your book, a frail woman sold by her husband. Although she died tragically in a brothel, she still managed to curse the heavens and her former husband before she died. How delightful!"

"Red moon, songbird, purple jade, kingfisher, feathers, etc., in each of your stories, the women either tragically accept their fate, or defiantly resist, or leave the brothel, or die in the brothel, but their lives all burn with their own brilliance."

"This radiance not only moves people's hearts but also illuminates their souls. Those girls have gained strength from it, and they want to try again. Recently, our Yong'an Lane has become much more lively. Many women who have become mistresses and then abandoned have begun to tentatively step out of their homes."

As Liu Yin listened to everything that had happened during this time, more than a month had passed since the book went on sale. She hadn't expected that such a short month could bring about such changes for the people in the neighborhood. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter: "Mother, I didn't make the wrong choice, did I?"

"No, you're right." Madam Liu stroked her head and smiled. "Later, I'll have someone send the manuscript to your uncle. Let's keep it at ten stories a month. That way, we can finish writing about a hundred stories in a year."

"Hmm..." Liu Yin looked back at the sky, her heart filled with hope, "In the future, spring will surely come and flowers will bloom."

A slap echoed in the exquisite and luxurious room.

"You brat, have I given you any face? How dare you ask Master Cui to intimidate me?" Xu's mother looked at her eldest daughter with anger. She never expected that her daughter could give her such a big surprise.

"Mom, ever since you believed in that Yue Ning's reforms, every girl in the brothel has been seeing five, six, seven, or eight customers every day." Xu Yueling covered her face, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at her mother.

"Did I let you guys pick me up? I've protected you all, letting you continue living your lives as before?" Mrs. Xu said with a look of exasperation.

“Yes, I only serve one or two customers, and so do the other sisters who used to be the ones who held up the facade. But Mother, can you swear that one day you won’t force us to be like the other sisters, accepting customers only if there’s money or connections?” Xu Yueling lowered her head slightly to hide the sarcasm in her eyes.

For a moment, Xu's mother was speechless. She looked at her daughter, thought about the pile of silver money, and then thought about the letter Cui Heng had sent today: "Alright, I understand. I will just tell them to take fewer customers in the future."

“Mother, even though Yuening is talented, she is no match for Liu Jianniang. Moreover, I heard that because we have lowered our status to solicit customers on the street, the managers are discussing downgrading us.” Seeing that her attitude had softened, Xu Yueling quickly pressed her advantage.

"What?" Madam Xu's expression changed. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about such a thing, but there had been no response from the other side for several months, and since there were other schools and academies, she assumed that the person in charge would agree.

"I understand. I'll arrange it. You can go back now." Xu's mother glanced at Xu Yueling, then waved her away with a look of annoyance.

After everyone left, she sat for a while before calling for her maid to come in: "Someone, come and fetch Lady Yuening."

Xu Yueling didn't know what her mother would do, nor did she know why Cui Heng had waited so long to send someone to intervene. She only knew that she and her sisters might be able to escape this predicament now.

It was late autumn in the capital, yet the streets were still bustling with activity. But something was strange today: a soldier on horseback, holding a command flag, rode straight towards them, shouting, "Urgent! Urgent!"

Hearing this sound, those riding in carriages, sedan chairs, and walking all moved to the sides, squeezing out a wide road in the middle, until people rushed past them, heading straight for the central palace.

"Could it be that another conflict is about to break out?" The scholars drinking tea discussed among themselves with worried expressions.

"Is another conscription coming?" Even ordinary people couldn't help but worry about their future.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry home!" The official rushed home, fearing that an imperial decree would soon arrive.

The well-informed high-ranking officials had been waiting in the palace for a long time, but the emperor was nowhere to be seen in the main hall.

"Your Majesty, an urgent message from 800 li away!" A young eunuch hurried towards an extremely opulent palace in the inner palace.

"Halt!" The young eunuch was stopped sternly by a chief eunuch. "What are you doing, having no manners at all?"

"Reporting to the Chief Eunuch, this is an urgent message! The esteemed officials have been waiting in the council hall for quite some time." The young eunuch quickly replied.

"Alright, I understand. Tell the officials to wait a moment, I'll go and inform His Majesty." The head eunuch gave an arrogant order and turned to enter the hall.

"What's going on outside?" A lazy voice echoed from deep within the hall.

"Your Majesty, this is an urgent dispatch. The officials are all waiting in the council hall." The usually arrogant chief eunuch was now quite obsequious.

"The frontier..." The voice remained languid, then chuckled a few times, "Let them wait..."

The Grand Eunuch listened without any change in expression, as if he had seen it many times before: "Yes, Your Majesty."