How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Although it was daytime, the red-light district, after the reforms of Qingyintang, was still bustling with activity. The vibrant atmosphere masked the winter chill, and the courtesans dressed in red and green made the entire district as colorful as springtime.

But a group of yamen runners dressed in black uniforms strode in from the alley entrance, causing everyone in the red-light district to scatter to the sides of the road.

"What's going on? Why are the government officials here?"

"Let's go, let's go and take a look."

Surprise, fear, doubt, and curiosity filled the red-light district. As the constables ignored everyone and walked in together, those who had nothing better to do naturally followed to watch the spectacle.

The constables had a clear objective: they headed straight for Qingyin Hall. Upon arriving, they disregarded the fact that the courtesans were entertaining customers, pushed open the door, waved them in, and herded all the sleeping and entertaining staff into the main hall like ducks.

"Sir... this, this... what is going on?" Xu Mama was woken up from her sleep by her maid. Without even tidying herself up, she threw on her clothes and went downstairs. When she saw a group of yamen runners, she immediately felt something was wrong and hurriedly went up to ask.

Seeing that she ignored him, the constable waved for everyone to close all the doors and windows, blocking all the entrances and exits. Only then did he pick up a stool, sit down, and say to the dissatisfied guests, "This is official business. Gentlemen, please leave now."

People outside, seeing that all the doors and windows were closed, thought there was no excitement to be had. Just as they were about to leave, they heard the door open, and a group of men and women, young and old, whose clothes were still somewhat disheveled, were ushered out. Some of the familiar faces went up to ask questions.

"So, Young Master Xu, what has Qingyintang done wrong?"

"Who knows? She was sleeping soundly." Young Master Xu frowned, full of dissatisfaction.

"Oh dear, if Qingyin Hall isn't good enough for Young Master Xu, there's also Ruanhong Pavilion. Come on, come on, I'll take you there right now. There's a pair of beautiful new sisters there." The person who spoke pulled Young Master Xu toward Ruanhong Pavilion, not forgetting to inquire about Qingyin Hall along the way.

This kind of thing happens to many people. The younger ones naturally complain endlessly, while the less knowledgeable ones also complain about the government. But there are also shrewd people who understand from the commotion of the yamen runners that this matter is probably not to be trifled with, so they naturally keep quiet and leave the brothel. As for how they speculate about the prefect's actions after returning home, that is another story altogether.

Speaking of Qingyin Hall, after all the guests had left, the courtesans took the opportunity to quickly tidy up their messy hair and clothes.

After everyone had left, Madam Xu took out a delicate purse and reluctantly stuffed it into the hand of the leading constable: "Sir, please forgive us. We are just ordinary women from humble families and have never seen the world. We hope you can give us some pointers."

The constable smiled and tossed the purse in his hand before saying to Madam Xu, "It's nothing, it's just that my master has invited your Lady Liu to come over."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu's expression immediately relaxed. She smiled and replied, "This official is really something, he scared me to death. If you are looking for Liu Jianniang, you can go to her house. Her house is in Liu Residence in Yong'an Lane, and it has nothing to do with our Qingyin Hall."

"Don't worry, someone will go and look for them." The head constable looked at Madam Xu with a smile. "Mother, don't blame us for closing the doors and windows. There are some things we need to talk about."

Upon hearing this, Xu's mother's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly explained, "Sir, what you're saying has nothing to do with us. Her crime doesn't affect us here."

The head constable didn't speak, but just tossed the purse in his hand with a meaningful smile: "I heard that your Qingyin Hall personally trained quite a few young maids to send to the Anle Prince's Mansion?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu's heart skipped a beat. Ever since she heard that the Prince of Anle's mansion had been escorted to the capital on charges of treason, she had been on edge. After all, many people in Huaicheng Prefecture who had dealings with the other party had been thoroughly investigated. Fortunately, she had kept it a secret and no word had leaked out. She waited another half month before she could finally relax. Little did she expect that it would be brought up today.

"Your Excellency is too kind... Our Qingyin Hall would never do something that violates the rules of the brothel district." Madam Xu smiled obsequiously and slipped two more silver notes into the constable's hand.

The constable raised an eyebrow, looking at Madam Xu with interest, before saying to her, "Of course we've come looking for you, and we have evidence. Please don't blame us for not giving you face, Madam."

"I hope Your Excellency can enlighten me." After saying this, Madam Xu saw that the constable was unmoved, so she gritted her teeth, took out a gold ingot from her bosom, and stuffed it into his hand. "Sir, I hope you can give me some guidance."

"Sure, sure." The constable raised his eyebrows, inwardly marveling. He had known that the heads of brothels were all incredibly wealthy, but he hadn't expected to get so much money from just a few threats. Even if he handed most of it over to his superiors, the rest would still be a lot for the rest of the men to divide. Thinking about this, he made up his mind to come here more often in the future, hoping to squeeze some money out of them.

Seeing that he agreed, Madam Xu was naturally happy, but before she could ask any further questions, Liu Yin was brought in by several soldiers.

When Liu Yin came in and saw this scene, she didn't say anything, but her brows were furrowed with confusion. She noticed the constable staring at her and paused, but before she could take another step forward, someone pushed her: "Hurry up and go!"

"This must be Lady Liu." The head constable looked Liu Yin up and down, then waved for everyone to gather. "Alright, everyone's here. Take them away!"

After saying this, several constables stepped forward and pushed Liu Yin and Xu Mama towards the door. But before they even reached the door, the head constable slapped his forehead and said to the courtesans in the main hall, "Who is Lady Yuening?"

Everyone turned their questioning gazes toward Yuening. Yuening was pushed out by her wife, who was displeased with her. She staggered and looked at the constables with a frightened expression.

The head constable smiled and looked at her, saying, "Take her with you."

Upon seeing this, Xu's mother immediately understood who had betrayed her, and her eyes instantly turned into knives, stabbing at Yue Ning.

Yuening never expected that secretly informing on someone would implicate her, so she could only lower her head guiltily and dare not say anything.

Liu Yin's eyes swept over the two of them. Although she still didn't know exactly what had happened, she already had a general idea in her mind.

As expected, once they arrived at the prefectural government office and were brought to the main hall, the prefect interrogated her first.

"How dare Liu Jianniang! She has dared to mock the present dynasty for reminiscing about the past in her book! What is her punishment?!" The prefect slammed his gavel and shouted.

“Your Excellency, I am a woman born and raised in this dynasty. What reason do I have to reminisce about the previous dynasty that caused so much suffering? I hope Your Excellency will understand.” Liu Yin knelt in the middle of the hall, neither arrogant nor humble.

Seeing her completely fearless demeanor, the prefect was somewhat surprised. He raised an eyebrow, thinking about what the letter had said, and still shouted, "Still dare to argue! Guards, take her to the jail, and we'll interrogate her another day!"

This utterly unreasonable act of imprisoning her made Liu Yin feel increasingly bewildered. However, before she could think about it further, yamen runners came to take her away, and she had no choice but to follow them to the women's prison.

As she turned to leave, she heard the prefect's voice behind her.

"Xu Yanyan and Xue Yuening, you two conspired with the Prince of Anle to abuse children. You plead guilty!"

Hearing that Xu's mother had been brought here for this reason, Liu Yin couldn't help but feel a little happy, but she was still worried. She wondered if the prefect was willing to seek justice for the innocent children who had died tragically...