How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

These words caused dissatisfaction not only among Miss Liu Yin and Miss Shen, but also among the other ladies and young women watching. In particular, the lady who first mentioned liking Liu Yin's books, though young, was not intimidated by the other ladies.

“Mrs. Yu is being completely unreasonable. Lady Liu is a distinguished guest invited by the Shen family. How can Mrs. Yu expect her to kneel? Are we all supposed to kneel as well?”

Mrs. Yu looked at the women around her, some watching and others listening intently, and then at Liu Yin, and sneered, "Others don't have to kneel before me, but she does. If you don't believe me, you can ask her what family she comes from."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Liu Yin.

Liu Yin remembered Madam Liu's instructions before she came and instantly understood the man's identity. She smiled and replied, "My identity has never been hidden from anyone. I was born into the Liu family in Yong'an Lane. I have only one mother, which is common knowledge. What does Madam Yu want to say?"

"Pah, you lowly slut!" Mrs. Yu was angered by her nonchalant demeanor and immediately changed her expression, angrily rebuking, "A lowly woman who crawled out of a brothel dares to be arrogant in front of me."

"Mrs. Yu!" Miss Shen stepped forward to shield Liu Yin behind her and said to Mrs. Yu, "Mrs. Yu, if you have any objections to the distinguished guest I invited, you are welcome to leave."

"Why should I leave? A lowly prostitute from a brothel has the nerve to stay? I'll have to take a good look at her." Mrs. Yu seemed to have thought of something, her eyes darting around as she sat down in a chair, adopting a "what can you do about it?" attitude.

Miss Shen naturally wanted to ask the person to leave, but before she could speak, she was stopped by the female guard behind her, who whispered something in her ear.

Others might not have heard clearly, but Liu Yin, who was very close by, caught her words: "Miss, this lady was invited by the old lady."

The old lady? Liu Yin recalled the background of the Shen family that Madam Liu had told her yesterday. This old lady Shen was originally the aunt of Miss Shen's father. Because when Shen's father lost his mother at a young age, the old master of the Shen family was too poor and had to marry his original wife's younger sister, so as to save on the bride price.

But who knew that this old lady was a remarkable person, famous throughout Huaicheng. It could be said that she was largely responsible for the current poor health of the eldest young master of the Shen family. However, since the old master passed away, she was the only elder in the Shen family, and no one could do anything about her. Moreover, because of her bad personality, only this Madam Yu liked to associate with her. Therefore, she had long ago instructed Miss Shen to treat this Madam Yu as she treated her.

What could Miss Shen do? Thinking of her grandmother's headache, she looked at Madam Yu again and again, and then at Liu Yin, who seemed to have no particular expression. She had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being, but she kept cursing in her heart, thinking that after it was over, she would find a way to make Madam Yu stay away from her family, preferably drive her out of the city.

Thinking of this, her expression softened considerably. She looked at Liu Yin and took her hand, saying, "I'm so sorry, Miss Liu, for causing you such humiliation in my Shen family. It's all my fault, and I hope you'll forgive me."

Liu Yin smiled and said it was alright. Of course, she knew that the other party was not truly apologetic. However, firstly, she still had some status, secondly, Madam Yu had indeed embarrassed the Shen family, and thirdly, there was the issue of her kinship with the Zhang family, as well as the relationship between the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy and her family, which everyone was currently speculating about.

Liu Yin thought for a moment and suddenly came up with a retaliatory idea. She whispered it in Miss Shen's ear. Miss Shen was taken aback, then looked at Madam Yu, understanding Liu Yin's thoughts, and couldn't help but smile inwardly: 'I didn't expect that this Liu family lady would be so good at getting revenge.'

She looked at the group of people chatting and clapped her hands: "Everyone, Ms. Liu said that she is deeply honored to know that many ladies and young women have read her writing today, and she would like to take this opportunity to thank you all."

"You're too kind, Master Liu. It's our honor to read your work," one of the ladies replied with a smile.

“Yes, if you really want to thank us, Ms. Liu, why don’t you write more? It would be best if you released the new book tomorrow,” another girl joked.

"That's right, Liu, at least write some happy stories. Your eyes are swollen from crying every day. People who don't know better might think my husband is making me angry." Another older lady couldn't help but joke.

Upon hearing this, the room immediately became cheerful. Liu Yin had no choice but to stand up and bow. After standing up, she said, "Thank you all for your concern. Please go to my aunt. I've given her all the writings I wrote. I don't have any left here."

"That's well said. We'll remember that and go rob Mrs. Zhang's place later." The older lady liked Liu Yin's composed and dignified demeanor.

"Okay, just don't mention my name, or my aunt will smash up my door." Liu Yin couldn't help but joke.

"Okay, okay, we promise not to tell, we promise not to tell," the ladies echoed.

Miss Shen laughed along with everyone before bowing to them and saying, "I'll definitely be smashing up the Zhang family's gate another day, or if that doesn't work, I'll smash up the Liu family's. But for today, let's listen to Master Liu's work first."

"Great! Is Master Liu going to play a new piece?" Everyone looked over with curiosity and surprise.

"Since we are all gathered here today, I will naturally compose a new piece for you all." Liu Yin had already picked up her pipa and tried out a few notes before sitting down in the center of the hall.

"At this grand gathering, beautiful women stroll and sing, yet harsh words are exchanged, and hearts are frozen in ice. The root of this is the coldness of human nature, the rampant corruption of unscrupulous merchants; where can one find solace in the human heart?"

The crowd thought the first line was alright, secretly marveling at how good Liu's voice was and how well she sang. However, the ending left them with some doubts.

"In the marketplace, half a catty is weighed as eight taels, but this shop is different; it weighs eight taels as a catty. The cloth is dyed in vibrant colors, and the government once praised it. But the dream of going to the capital was shattered, and the calls for returns suddenly arose."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to Mrs. Yu, whose face had turned ashen. The others naturally knew why, and secretly chuckled to themselves.

After all, they were all prominent merchants in Huaicheng, and they all knew that the Yu family had recently considered themselves to be imperial merchants and had been very arrogant towards them, especially the young women, who had suffered a lot of mistreatment from the Yu family's daughters.

But not long after, for some unknown reason, the government openly delivered a batch of fabric directly to the Yu family's fabric shop. With a crowd gathered at the gate, they angrily denounced the Yu family's fabric as inferior. From then on, the Yu family kept a low profile, but Madam Yu still held onto her former glory and refused to bow her head.

Then Liu Yin continued singing: "The human heart is like an abyss, unfathomable. The heart of the unscrupulous merchant is black, and he sees everyone as himself. The world is cold and indifferent, and it is hard to distinguish between good and evil. In his eyes, the world is only shadow. The way of business is difficult. The unscrupulous merchant digs his own grave. He cheats others and will eventually be punished by heaven. When the government returns the goods and his reputation is ruined, the people of the city will see clearly and have bright eyes."

After this passage was sung, everyone couldn't help but admire Liu Yin: "As expected of Liu Jianniang, her literary talent is truly remarkable; her wording is truly impressive."

Of course, they didn't forget to glance at Mrs. Yu's expression.

Mrs. Yu knew that the best course of action was to get up and leave, but she was proud of her status and remembered that she had just asked to stay, so she could only sit there with a pale face and listen to Liu Yin's sarcastic remarks about her family.

"Time flies, and retribution is swift; the downfall of the unscrupulous merchant family is inevitable. The city's integrity will not tolerate the corrupt; a pure heart will ultimately triumph over a black heart… The people of the city will uphold their innocence; their pure hearts will forever shine, and evil will have no place to hide… The long river of history flows on, and the unscrupulous merchant clown will eventually become a thing of the past. His good deeds will be passed down, serving as a warning to future generations: the path of commerce is difficult, only honesty and integrity can prevail. In this vast world, good and evil will ultimately be rewarded; the unscrupulous merchant has fallen, but righteousness will prevail in the city. May this song serve as a warning to the world and awaken people's hearts: the path of commerce is difficult, only virtue and talent can prevail."

"This song is a cautionary tale. You are all business people, so I hope you will take the unscrupulous merchant in the song as a mirror, operate with integrity, and you will surely prosper." Liu Yin put away her pipa, smiled, bowed to everyone, and then said.

"You little brat, how dare you!" Mrs. Yu slammed her hand on the table in anger at her high-sounding words. "She's just a mistress's daughter, how dare she give up in front of me!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's gazes shifted between Liu Yin and Mrs. Yu, and speculations arose from among them.