How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

It's no wonder Liu Yin was surprised; the term 'wife-selling' was both unfamiliar and familiar to her.

She felt familiar with it because she knew it in her past life, but it was strange because she had never seen it before in this life.

What is wife-selling? Liu Yin thought of the information she had seen in her previous life. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, there was a practice of marrying off wives and selling children. By the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the practice of marrying off wives had become known as hostage-selling.

However, it wasn't until the Song Dynasty that the practice of pawning wives truly began to take shape among the common people. The Northern Song Dynasty's "Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government" clearly records: "Due to famine, people hired and sold their wives and children." The Southern Song Dynasty's Hong Mai's "Records of Strange Things" further states: "Pawning wives and children meant that their clothes were barely worn out and their food was insufficient. They could only beg for a few coins each day and barely survive on vegetable porridge."

In the Song Dynasty, not only did wife-selling occur, but so did the practice of hiring wives. The *Minggong Shupan Qingming Ji* records a case: "A daughter of a family surnamed Chen was hired by an official named Zheng Wanqi in a certain year for a seven-year term, receiving a total of over two hundred coins. In December, she was pawned to a guarantor named Xu Baier in Xinzhou, who immediately hired her to Chen Erjiu in Qianshan, this time for seven hundred coins. A few months later, Chen Erjiu hired her again to Zhou Qianer, a merchant in Qigong Town. After several transfers, the amount involved had multiplied several times. When the case was investigated, it was found that the agreed-upon employment period had been violated, constituting the crime of buying and selling women. The verdict was to restrict her personal freedom until she paid sufficient compensation and realized that using the law to deceive others was pointless."

The Yuan Dynasty was the first dynasty to explicitly prohibit the sale of wives and the hiring of wives in clear legal provisions. The Yuan Dianzhang records: "In the Wu and Yue regions, the practice of selling wives and hiring children has been a long-standing custom, and previous dynasties had never prohibited it." This phenomenon was common along the Yangtze River and in the southeastern coastal areas.

As time progressed, by the Ming and Qing dynasties, the practice of wife-selling became more diverse, even leading to the emergence of "recruiting and raising husbands" with the wife taking the lead.

During the late Ming Dynasty, people lived in poverty. Feng Menglong, who was the magistrate of Shouning County in Fujian at the time, recorded: "Wealthy families would not pawn their wives unless they encountered a major upheaval. However, poor families were already struggling financially. If they encountered any difficulties, they would pawn their wives as if they were discarding worn-out shoes to relieve their immediate crisis. Or they would rent their wives to others to have children, paying one tael of gold per year for three to five years, after which the wives would be brought back. If the pawned person begged for an extension and continued payment, there were also cases of prolonged pawning without returning the wives, and even cases of selling the wives outright."

For Liu Yin, the current Li Dynasty is very similar to the Ming Dynasty in her memory in terms of its customs, traditions, and history, so the practice of selling or hiring wives naturally occurs.

“Even if it’s a wife who has been sold, she shouldn’t be treated like this.” Liu Yin frowned, her face full of disapproval.

"There's nothing they can do. They sell their wives for the sake of having children. If it's for the sake of having children, why would they care about what happens to their mothers?" Liu Xuemei ate her meal without a care in the world.

Seeing that the woman still looked like she was suffering from severe stomach pain, Liu Yin took a deep breath, put down her chopsticks, and went over to her.

Seeing her actions, Liu Xuemei was startled, hurriedly put down the food in her hand, grabbed her sword, and followed after her.

"Miss, is there anything else?" The pretty maid who had been talking to Liu Yin first noticed Liu Yin and turned around to block the woman behind her.

“Young lady, I see that your aunt is in unbearable stomach pain and seems to really be unable to eat.” Liu Yin did not forcefully force the other party to stop feeding her, but instead explained politely, “I know you are doing this for the sake of the baby in her womb, but if she really can’t eat and ends up vomiting, it will affect the child.”

The pretty maid frowned and couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

“I didn’t mean anything by it, but I just felt I should offer a word of advice. Judging from the woman’s belly, she’s probably only five or six months pregnant, which is the second trimester. Eating too much during this period can easily cause abdominal discomfort, and prolonged gastrointestinal discomfort can lead to excessive tension in the uterus, thereby increasing the risk of miscarriage or premature birth,” Liu Yin explained gently.

Upon hearing her words, the maid's expression changed. She then turned to exchange glances with the other maids before looking at the woman for a moment, frowning. She turned to another maid and gave her a few instructions before saying to Liu Yin, "Thank you for reminding us, Miss. We will be careful."

Seeing that the other party had indeed stopped pressuring the woman, Liu Yin said nothing. After receiving a grateful look from the woman, she smiled at the other party, turned around and left with Liu Xuemei.

When they reached the dinner table, Liu Xuemei asked curiously, "Girl, is what you said true? Shouldn't pregnant women take lots of supplements? How could you still have a miscarriage?"

"Actually, it's wrong to either over-nourish or not at all during pregnancy. It depends on the individual. Too much of anything is as bad as too little," Liu Yin explained with a smile. She then saw out of the corner of her eye that several maids were helping the woman upstairs before she felt relieved.

"Young lady, you truly have the heart of a bodhisattva." Liu Xuemei, having also noticed the woman's condition, couldn't help but praise her.

"How can you call it having the heart of a bodhisattva? It's just a small favor, a good deed done every day." Liu Yin tilted her head and couldn't help but laugh.

"But for that woman, it could be considered a life-saving grace." Liu Xuemei looked at the departing woman, a trace of inexplicable sadness flashing in her eyes, but before Liu Yin could get a good look, she returned to her usual demeanor.

Liu Yin didn't take the matter to heart. However, that evening, she suddenly heard a knock on the door. When Mei Wu went to open the door and came back to tell her, she realized that it was a couple who had come to thank her.

Liu Yin found it strange, so she took Mo Ming out to see what was going on. There, she saw a well-dressed couple politely looking at Liu Xuemei as she rushed over, explaining something to her.

Upon seeing Liu Yin approach, the couple quickly stepped forward and said politely, "We must thank you for reminding us today, otherwise our concubine at home might have..."

After saying that, the lady handed over a box from her bosom. Liu Yin glanced at it and saw that it was made of top-quality huanghuali wood and was exquisitely carved. She knew that the item must be very valuable, so she smiled and pushed it back: "You're too kind. It was just a small favor."

The couple exchanged glances, and the lady, looking embarrassed, cautiously began to speak: "We consulted the royal physician, but he didn't give such a definitive answer. However, he did say that based on past experience, what you said is correct. My husband and I were hoping you could tell us if there are any other precautions we should take, especially regarding the child..."

Liu Yin was taken aback upon hearing this, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Even though pregnancy was so harmful to the mother's body, and the other party knew it, even if she came to humbly ask for a solution, it was still for the sake of the child. Thinking of the grateful look in the woman's eyes that she had seen today, she sighed again before saying, "Then please do your best."