How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Looking up at that face, Prince Cui looked slightly bewildered, but he didn't say anything. He just smiled and looked at Eunuch Liu: "A mere eunuch, how dare he be remembered by this prince?"

“Yes, Your Highness is a man of high status and has a short memory, but I am a petty man, and petty men always hold grudges.” Eunuch Liu smiled kindly yet strangely as he approached Prince Cui step by step.

Looking at Prince Cui's bound hands and feet, he couldn't help but say, "Since the young prince doesn't remember, then I'll help him think of something."

"Slap!" A slap landed on Prince Cui's face. Before he could react, Eunuch Liu slapped him several more times. After wiping his hands, he said, "You were like this fifteen years ago. Just because we looked at you and were unhappy, you wanted to gouge out our eyes. Later, we were rescued by someone, and you had someone slap us fifty times, a full fifty times!"

"Eunuch! It's you!" Prince Cui, no longer caring about his previous foolish pretense, covered his face and laughed as he looked at Eunuch Liu. "So it's you, eunuch. So you want revenge? For whom? For your foolish and incompetent master?"

"Slap!" Eunuch Liu slapped him again. "You dare to humiliate Prince Anning! Which of you can compare to the Prince! Stupid! Incompetent! Greedy! These things belong to you. My master should be the best ruler! It was you villains who killed him and took away everything that should have belonged to him!"

Seeing Eunuch Liu furiously berating him, Prince Cui laughed even more arrogantly: "So what? The victor is king, the loser is a bandit!"

“But now you are also a loser.” Eunuch Liu looked at him and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"So what? As long as I still have some dirt on him, our good Emperor will only beg you to hold me back." Prince Cui looked at Eunuch Liu with sinister eyes, his face still showing that venomous and mocking smile.

"How about we give you another way out?" Upon hearing the words "weak point," a glint of light immediately flashed in Eunuch Liu's eyes.

"For that evidence?" Prince Choi wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what the other party meant.

"Of course, what kind of personality does our Emperor want the young master to know? How much of a chance do you think you have of being embraced?" Eunuch Liu looked at him without any surprise.

"What do you want?" Prince Cui looked at him sideways.

"Give me the evidence, and I'll find a death row inmate to hang himself in your place. Here's 30,000 taels of silver, enough to make you live a life of luxury for the rest of your days." Eunuch Liu pulled out a small box from his pocket, which, when opened, contained a whole box of silver notes.

“Thirty thousand taels…” Prince Cui sneered. “Indeed, this money seems far more trustworthy than His Majesty’s, but why should I trust a eunuch like you?”

Seeing his seemingly indifferent expression, Eunuch Liu said, "It's alright. We're just offering the young master a way out. He can think it over carefully and take his time. We have plenty of time." Without waiting for the young master's reply, Eunuch Liu turned and left the room.

He had just stepped out of the courtyard when he encountered General Anguo. Seeing that he looked unwell, General Anguo said, "I told you this method wouldn't work, but you wouldn't believe me."

"We just wanted to try another path. What if it works? Then the children won't have to take the risk." Grandpa Liu's smile was much more genuine now.

“It’s alright. We’ve been preparing for this for ten years. Don’t worry, Grandpa Liu. With me, Mingyou, Cui Heng, and many, many of us, we can wait. We will definitely get that evidence.” A determined look flashed in General Anguo’s eyes.

Eunuch Liu looked at General Anguo with a kind and slightly indulgent expression: "I know, I know, but we old folks also want to do our part. Don't worry, the young master has been found, everything will be alright."

"Hmm, I don't know when we'll be able to see the young master." General Anguo helped Eunuch Liu up with a complaining look on his face. "Yuan Mingyou is really stupid. He even scared the young master before. It's been so long and we still can't see him."

"It's alright, it's alright. The young master is of the prince's blood; she'll understand." Eunuch Liu continued to support his hand, whispering instructions, "Tell them to keep an eye on things at the border. Make sure they rescue the general and the others. Also, remember to stir things up in the capital... and the prefect here..."

The next day, after finally learning that the entire Anle Prince's mansion had been escorted back to the capital, Prefect Sun finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately summoned his steward: "Have someone secretly deliver this letter to the Duke of Baoguo's mansion, understand?"

"Yes, sir. Then shall we give it to His Highness...?" the steward asked cautiously, head bowed.

The prefect stared at him until he was sweating profusely before smiling and saying, "It would be too obvious for me to contact His Highness directly now. Give this letter to the Duke of Baoguo, and he will help me make the contact."

"Yes, sir, I'll take care of it right away." After the steward left quickly, he didn't notice the increasingly profound look in the prefect's eyes as he looked back at him.

The water in the capital was indeed getting muddier, but no matter how muddied it became, it wouldn't affect His Majesty, who was high above in the palace.

"Where is Li Linfeng?" The emperor rubbed his temples, and a palace maid immediately brought him a snuff bottle. He took a snuff and his headache eased a little.

The kneeling eunuch below hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Li is already waiting in the warm pavilion."

"Let him in here," the emperor said impatiently, waving his hand dismissively.

The young eunuch immediately ran out and brought the man over. Li Linfeng scrambled in, and as soon as he entered the hall, he knelt on the ground, covered his face, and began to cry, saying repeatedly, "Your Majesty, it is all my fault for being incompetent. I was unable to fulfill Your Majesty's orders. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"Alright, I know everything." The emperor leaned back on the dragon throne with his eyes slightly narrowed, waving his hand impatiently. He then said, "I've heard that there are many beauties in the Qinhuai area. A few days ago, I heard that there was a Qingyin lady who was quite famous, and Liu Jianniang was even called the number one poet in the world. In that case, go to the Qinhuai area and find them for me. If you find any such beauties, don't worry about anything else, bring them all. You will reward them accordingly."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is truly amazing. I couldn't have come up with this even if I racked my brains." Li Linfeng offered another round of flattery.

"Alright, I know you've been wronged. Guards." The emperor said to the four palace maids who came up beside him, "These four beauties are yours. I heard that your concubine has given you another son. You can take two boxes of pearls with you to play with later."

"Your Majesty, I kneel and thank you for your grace." Li Linfeng kowtowed again to express his gratitude.

"Alright, go back." The emperor yawned and impatiently waved for the others to leave.

"My lord, are we really going to Qinhuai and Liangfu? Isn't the famous brothel there? And that Qingyin Niangzi, just the name sounds like a prostitute, this..." Li Linfeng's retainer frowned upon hearing the emperor's decree, seemingly troubled.

"What are you afraid of? Let alone prostitutes, as long as they are pretty, even if they are middle-aged women who have given birth to ten or eight children, our Emperor wouldn't mind. Besides, isn't there that Liu Jianniang?" Li Linfeng glanced at him, seemingly impatient.

"But..." The retainer was still somewhat worried.

"Alright, just pick a few clean ones when the time comes. If she's truly a blessed one, I wouldn't mind taking her in as my daughter. I'll find a way to do it then," Li Linfeng replied with a smile.

Hearing him say this, the retainers said nothing more. After all, this was not the first time he had done this. Two years ago, there was an incident where the emperor fell in love with a court lady, but Li Linfeng intervened, killed her husband, and forced her to live a miserable life. Only then did he pretend to be a benefactor and take her in as his daughter. Later, she was sent to the emperor's bed, which naturally brought him benefits.

"But what if they are unwilling..." The retainer lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised another matter, "Liu Jianniang's talent is widely known, if she really is unwilling..."

Li Linfeng lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "It's not impossible. There are always some virtuous and chaste women in this world. How about you do this..."

The retainer listened to his idea, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which then turned to smugness before he nodded knowingly and withdrew...