The improved female villains regained their memories.

Yang Pingsheng sat in a rocking chair in the courtyard, while Xu Anyin spoke animatedly beside him.

"That woman has been unable to find any clues these past few days, and she's furious. She just got into an argument with the immortal representative from the Wentian Sect. It's really satisfying."

As she spoke, she casually tossed a pastry that was placed beside her into her mouth, her long, fiery red hair blowing in the wind, a testament to her good mood.

"Grand Tutor, do you want some?"

"I don't eat sweets."

"What a pity, the imperial kitchen made some excellent pastries today."

Perhaps the initial results of her revenge were in, as Xu Anyin had become noticeably more cheerful these past few days. Yang Pingsheng, through his interactions with her, had also gained a deeper understanding of her.

She was probably just like Xu Anlu before, a mischievous and playful girl. But with family and national grievances bottled up inside, she inevitably had to suppress herself after being reborn.

The system later filled in the details of Xu Anyin's experiences before her rebirth for Yang Pingsheng. The destruction of the country and the displacement of her family on that day made this girl cold and ruthless, but fortunately, she was not that kind of person by nature.

She wasn't like Wen Shihan, ruthless and obsessed with climbing the social ladder. Nor was she like Luo Benmo, a born villain who harbored evil and brought the deepest fear to the world. She was just a normal girl who risked everything for revenge and returned to the world.

She had developed a basic trust in Yang Pingsheng and revealed her awkward side. Just now, watching Yang Pingsheng lying in the rocking chair, Xu Anyin suddenly asked, "Does the Grand Tutor really like lying in a rocking chair?"

"That's it."

"why?"

"I'm getting old, this is quite comfortable."

"Once I've finished my revenge, I'll find a way to get you a Sixth-Rank Mortal Transformation Pill," Xu Anyin blurted out. Seeing Yang Pingsheng looking at her, she immediately turned her face away.

"Don't look at me like that. You saved me before I was reborn, and now you're helping me like this again. I'm not the kind of person who doesn't know how to repay kindness, so of course I won't just watch you die like this."

"You seem to have forgotten that before your rebirth, I was the one who led you onto the path of cultivation."

"So what? You'd be better off not being reborn. Look at you now, you're just a mortal now, aren't you?"

She spoke forcefully, jumped down, walked to Yang Pingsheng's side, and poked his cheek:

"However, you don't look too old. Why don't you consider joining my harem?"

Yang Pingsheng looked at her, and she stared at him with wide eyes, looking very serious.

However, his appearance at twelve years old was hardly convincing.

"I'm an old man."

"It doesn't matter. As long as I've shed my mortal form, it doesn't matter how long I live. I don't mind."

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Yang Pingsheng decided not to argue with her anymore and changed the subject: "That person, the one I recommended to you was pretty good, wasn't he?"

Ling Yan'er orchestrated a trap, killing Ling Shui'er and the newly appointed Minister of Personnel, and then placed her own people into the Six Ministries. Unfortunately, she hadn't anticipated that Yang Pingsheng would preempt her.

Three of the six ministers were her people, as were the palace patrol officers.

When the palace caught fire and Eunuch Shi was killed, an inspector came to testify for Xu Anlu, saying that she had been under his watchful eye all night.

Xu Anyin smiled, his beautiful eyes narrowing into slits, yet still radiating light:

"The person recommended by the Grand Tutor is naturally excellent."

Xu Anyin was very pleased that the woman had managed to be so thoroughly humiliated.

She could never forget those days before her rebirth—the cold winds of the wilderness, the icy springs, the towering peaks—she had walked through them, been given food and porridge, and slept in stables. Exhausted from her escape, she was finally rescued by the person before her.

Her eyes sparkled with new hopes for the future.

Yang Pingsheng sat down, looked at the red-haired girl, and said gently, "Seeing how happy you are, let's continue learning about benevolence and righteousness."

The smile is visibly disappearing.

"Grand Tutor..." Xu Anyin's lips twitched, "Didn't you say you would teach me military strategy?"

"Really? I didn't agree."

"you!"

"To learn or not to learn?"

"study…"

It's another beautiful day.

After learning about benevolence and righteousness, Xu Anyin returned to his consciousness space and saw Xu Anlu practicing boxing. He walked over and patted her shoulder as usual: "I'm returning your body to you. Remember not to give yourself away."

Xu Anlu did not leave immediately as she had done before. Instead, she stopped her stance and stared intently at Xu Anyin.

"sister."

She asked, "Did you go to see the Grand Tutor?"

Back in the courtyard, Xu Anyin said to Xu Anlu, "The Grand Tutor is an unfathomable man. Now that he knows the secret of our dual souls, you must be more cautious when you are with him."

She said it, but she didn't do it. Now, Yang Pingsheng has become her closest comrade-in-arms.

Unlike Xu Anyin, Xu Anlu shouldn't be able to see the outside world from within her consciousness space. So when she asked Xu Anlu's question, Xu Anyin decisively replied, "No, why would I go see him?"

Yang Pingsheng was involved in her revenge, and Xu Anlu was rather naive, so there were many things Xu Anyin didn't want to tell her.

"No?"

"No."

As Xu Anyin spoke, a hint of irritation crept in, an emotion she herself couldn't quite explain: "What's wrong with you today? Why are you dwelling on this?"

"laugh…"

"what?"

"Sister, you're smiling."

Back in the courtyard, Xu Anlu had already noticed that Xu Anyin had started to smile.

Those were the days she spent with Yang Pingsheng. For many days, without her knowledge, Xu Anyin and Yang Pingsheng were together.

Every time she comes back, she smiles.

That was a happy smile.

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Xu An'yin almost jumped up, his red fur standing on end like a cat in a state of stress. "Why do I smile whenever I see that old man?"

After thinking about it, she realized that she might have said something wrong, and quickly spat it out.

"Pah! What's so funny about that old man?"

"sister…"

"what?"

"I am leaving."

She didn't look at Xu Anyin, but instead left the space of consciousness.

I opened my eyes and found myself in the bedroom, with my black hair reflected in the mirror on the opposite table.

She remembered what had happened in the courtyard.

It was one evening.

Xiao Zhu had a question to ask the Grand Tutor, so the Grand Tutor went to Xiao Zhu's room. She was playing with Xiao Erduo when suddenly, Xiao Erduo ran into the Grand Tutor's room.

"Don't run around!"

She called out and chased after the tutor into his room. As soon as she entered, she saw Little Ears burrow under the tutor's bed. In her haste, she didn't realize she had barged into the tutor's room and hurriedly tried to catch it.

"Really, Little Ears, you're so naughty."

She complained, lay down, and reached out to grab Little Ears, but unexpectedly, she grabbed a painting instead.

That was a painting of her mother.

She stared, somewhat bewildered.

There are many such paintings under the Grand Tutor's bed.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Vengeance is the Best Policy

In the years that followed, Xu Anyin, together with Yang Pingsheng, gradually eliminated Ling Yan'er's influence.

With the Immortal Asking Sect refusing to intervene, Ling Yan'er was filled with impotent rage, and Yang Pingsheng, as her political enemy, naturally aroused her suspicion. To be honest, at this point in the struggle, both sides had essentially revealed their cards, and Ling Yan'er knew that her charm was no longer effective on Yang Pingsheng.

They talked twice more, and on the last occasion, Yang Pingsheng simply turned against her.

"Empress Dowager."

He looked at her and said:

"Only by weighing the weight can one know what is important and what is not; only by measuring can one know what is long and what is short. The country is so vast, how can the Empress Dowager, who rules from behind the curtain, understand it clearly? It is better to leave the affairs of the young people to them."

Ling Yan'er covered her face and wept: "Is the Grand Tutor going to follow the example of the Duke of Thailand?"

The Duke of Thailand was a powerful minister in the history of the Great Yan Dynasty. He once controlled the court and the government, and his word was law. Later, when the previous emperor rose to power, he outwitted the powerful minister and brought him down.

When Ling Yan'er said that, she was basically labeling her.

"I have already said, Your Majesty, leave the affairs of the young to them. I am old and do not wish to concern myself with matters of the court."

"Since the Grand Tutor has said so, what can I say? I can only lament that the Grand Tutor and I have come to this point."

Both of them dismissed each other's words as nonsense. Ling Yan'er knew that the Wentian Sect, which supported Yang Pingsheng, wouldn't let him retire. Yang Pingsheng also knew that Ling Yan'er had always considered him an enemy. Judging from the internal struggles within the Wentian Sect, the two could never have become friends from the start.

Ultimately, the outcome will depend on the actions of both sides.

Yang Pingsheng and Xu Anyin met more and more frequently, partly because of lectures, and partly because Ling Yan'er's revenge had begun, and Xu Anyin needed to suppress her in a targeted manner.

They would meet in the courtyard. Every evening at dusk, as the blood-red sunset painted the lush green shrubs in crimson, Yang Pingsheng would sit in the rocking chair there, closing his eyes to rest, waiting for Xu Anyin's arrival.

When she arrives, she often emerges from the most secluded spot, dressed in clean robes, attempting to startle Yang Pingsheng.

Her fiery red hair reached her waist, swaying in the wind. Every time this happened, Yang Pingsheng would half-open his eyes and say, "You've arrived?"

She became talkative, rambling on and on to Yang Pingsheng about many things—the ugly behavior of the person she was trying to assassinate, their constant pleas for mercy, or her past before her rebirth, her childhood memories. Each time she spoke of these things, her eyebrows would dance, and her tone would become more meaningful.

He seemed more mature when we first met.

Yang Pingsheng thought that after spending a long time with Xu Anyin, he felt that she was like Xu Anlu, but she had experienced more and had no choice but to put on that disguise.