How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Master Eunuch..." A junior eunuch hesitated for a long time before quietly approaching the senior eunuch. He had just tentatively called out when he was interrupted by the senior eunuch's gaze.

"Wait." The chief eunuch knew before the other party could say anything that it must be the officials in the council hall urging him, but hearing the faint exclamations of women coming from the inner palace, he dared not go forward to disturb the emperor who was in the middle of his excitement.

He didn't know how much time had passed; the little eunuch's legs were getting numb from standing, when he finally heard a voice from inside: "Come in."

He followed the head eunuch, head bowed, quickly walking to the center of the hall. He hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects, and then heard the voice say, "Are those people in the council hall still waiting?"

The young eunuch knelt there tremblingly, secretly pinching his thigh, and replied in a voice that his teeth chattered but which could be heard by those in power, "Your Majesty, the officials have sent me to ask if Your Majesty has any matters to discuss."

"Heh, alright, alright, let's go." The voice was full of mockery, and then a series of footsteps accompanied by the rustling of clothes passed by the eunuch.

Before leaving, the head eunuch gave him a kick as a reminder.

The young eunuch quickly got up and followed, but as he stood up, he inadvertently caught sight of a bright yellow figure not far away. A thought suddenly popped into his mind: "Everyone says His Majesty has difficulty walking, but it doesn't seem like it."

He was then frightened by his own thoughts, and quickly lowered his head to catch up with the retreating soldiers. It wasn't until they reached the council hall that he was ordered by the chief eunuch to guard the entrance of the main hall.

Inside the hall, the officials were already impatient, especially the Minister of War and the Minister of Revenue, since they would be the busiest if conflict broke out on the border.

The Minister of Revenue, in particular, has been doing well since the new emperor ascended the throne. In the early years, things were better, but in recent years he has become increasingly fond of building palaces and collecting beauties. There is not much money left in the national treasury. If an army were to be raised, both money and provisions would be a matter of life and death.

He glanced at the composed Grand Tutor and the two prime ministers, hesitated for a long time, and finally lingered to the right prime minister's side: "Lord Zhang, what is His Majesty doing...?"

Prime Minister Zhang looked at him with a kind expression and said as if he did not understand, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is probably busy. Let's wait a bit."

"But... what about the 800-li urgent dispatch?" The Minister of Revenue frowned and lowered his voice.

"Alright, Minister Liu, I know what you want to say. Just wait and see, there will be a conclusion. No rush." ​​After saying this, Prime Minister Zhang turned around and started chatting with another official.

After waiting for a long time, the Grand Tutor walked up to a young eunuch and said, "Please trouble this eunuch to go to Guanju Palace and ask His Majesty when he can discuss state affairs."

The young eunuch was the one who had gone to Guanju Palace. He was waiting at the gate, while the Grand Tutor and the others had all respectfully bowed to the Emperor before being summoned by him.

They weren't frightened by the emperor's deliberate insistence that they perform the full curtsy before standing up, but they frowned when they saw the emperor's expression.

The Grand Tutor, in particular, frowned and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, you should be mindful of your health. I hope Your Majesty will prioritize state affairs and refrain from indulging in pleasures with the harem and concubines, thus neglecting state affairs."

"Hmm, I understand." The emperor was not angered by the Grand Tutor. He merely glanced at him indifferently before yawning and turning to the others. "Speak, why did you summon me here?"

"Your Majesty, an urgent report from the border! It's an urgent dispatch!" The Minister of War couldn't contain himself and stepped forward to deliver the message.

"Hmm, I know, and then what?" The emperor still looked bored.

"Your Majesty..." The Minister of War was about to continue speaking when the Emperor raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Alright, I understand. Send troops if necessary, do what needs to be done. Isn't there already a plan? You can arrange it yourselves." The emperor waved his hand and looked at the Grand Tutor, "Grand Tutor, you can arrange this matter."

After saying this, he flicked his sleeves, got up and left, leaving a group of ministers looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Grand Tutor, this..." The Minister of War looked at him with some helplessness.

"Let's follow the old practice. How much grain can the Ministry of Revenue allocate?" The Grand Tutor turned to look at the Minister of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue, with a bitter face, spread his hands and shook his head: "Grand Tutor, I really have no choice. A couple of days ago, he asked for another 300,000 taels of silver to select beauties. Now the national treasury only has 100,000 taels available. Winter is coming soon, and we also need money for disaster relief and snow disaster prevention, as well as military pay in various places. Even a clever cook can't cook without rice."

"One hundred thousand!" The Grand Tutor frowned and looked at the two prime ministers, who were also surprised. They knew that the emperor had become increasingly absurd in the past year or two, but they did not expect that the national treasury would only have this little bit of silver left to squander.

"Winter is approaching, and taxes will be collected from all regions. We can temporarily divert some funds to send grain and fodder to the frontier. Gentlemen, why don't we all lend a hand?" The Grand Tutor thought for a moment before looking up at the leaders of the various departments present.

Everyone was smart enough to understand the Grand Tutor's meaning, but they didn't want to bleed money themselves. They exchanged glances before the Minister of Works stepped forward and pleaded poverty: "Sir, it's not that we can't afford it, but how can small families like ours possibly cover such a shortfall? Perhaps we could borrow from His Majesty's selection of beauties..."

The Grand Tutor knew, of course, that his plan was doomed to fail. He merely wanted to use this as leverage to force others to persuade the emperor. Seeing that no one was willing to engage, he chuckled and said, "No problem, no problem. The Imperial Guards have records of everyone's wealth. I'll check them later and find one or two wealthy families."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but curse him under their breath as an "old fox." The ministers exchanged glances and finally decided to nominate a newly appointed censor from the Censorate.

The Left Censor-in-Chief calmly said, "It is the responsibility of our Censorate to supervise all officials. It is also our duty to correct the emperor's conduct. Why don't we let our Censor Liu go and submit a petition?"

With someone taking the lead, the others naturally stopped talking and quickly dispersed to arrange their own affairs.

They didn't care what would happen to the censor surnamed Liu who took over the matter.

The events in the capital did not affect the liveliness of Qinhuai Prefecture at all, because Liu Jianniang's second book, "Biographies of a Hundred Flowers," was published.

This time, the scope of influence is wider and the impact is greater; even Wenyuan Academy is talking about this book.

"Brother Shuyun, you've been traveling for months and you don't know that Liu Jianniang from Huaicheng is not only a talented poet, but she also writes this story exceptionally well. Although the language is simple and plain, it is enough to move people's hearts and leave a deep impression on readers, making it unforgettable for a lifetime." Liu Ziheng pulled Wen Shuyun, who had just returned to the academy, and talked about "The Biographies of a Hundred Flowers" incessantly, even describing the amazing competition that happened a few months ago.

Wen Shuyun naturally knew of Liu Jianniang's talent. He had already imitated the manuscript of "Candy" countless times until it had gained some charm before his elder brother released it. To prevent others from gossiping, he made up an excuse that he was studying in another place.

Although he missed the grand occasion of the competition, he had already obtained "The Biographies of a Hundred Flowers" long ago. The second volume had been on his desk since yesterday, and he had already read it last night without hesitation.