The improved female villains regained their memories.

"You're not dreaming."

"Ah... I see, damn it, watch out behind you!"

Yang Pingsheng, of course, did not turn his head. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Su Murong's hand behind his back.

What are you holding in your hand?

"Tsk."

She pursed her lips and tossed aside the wooden stick that had appeared out of nowhere.

"So, you really are Yang Pingsheng?"

"Ah."

"really?"

"No, it's true."

"Impossible, impossible, it's definitely fake."

"It really is true."

She slapped herself again.

Taking a deep breath, she tentatively called out, "Doctor?"

"Ah."

"Godfather?"

"Let's skip this one."

"puppy?"

"I don't have such a nickname."

Yang Pingsheng said, "Mu Rong, you..."

boom!

An unreasonable hug.

She just rushed straight at him and crashed into Yang Pingsheng's arms.

The collision reminded Yang Pingsheng of many things.

That year, that snow, that city.

Amidst the falling snow, a young girl sits at the city gate, writing "I'm selling myself to bury my father."

Of course, she didn't really sell herself to bury her father; her father had died long ago. Selling herself to bury her father was just an excuse to rob him.

That was truly a dark era.

Ten-year-old Su Murong lacked the innocence of a child, swore constantly, and acted like a thug.

Without Yang Pingsheng, she might have gone down the same path, a darker and bloodier one.

It didn't matter to her, because no matter how dark or bloody it was, as long as it brought her wealth and glory in the end, it was fine.

Because the path she was originally going to take was a path of betrayal.

Although Su Murong is not very strong, when it comes to harming the world, she is no less than other female villains.

The shame of the Yan Kingdom, the shattering of the Spirit Spring, the ceding of territory by the Southern Yan Kingdom, the chaos of the Three Kingdoms, the separation and death of the people, and the plunge of the entire Central Plains into darkness. Later, a hundred demons invaded and demons ran rampant. The heroine tried to save the dawn from the fire and water, but was betrayed by Su Murong and committed suicide by drawing her sword.

She started by betraying her country, then moved on to betraying humanity, seeking personal gain through buyers, and step by step, she climbed the ladder of wealth and status she desired.

This is Su Murong.

A most shameless person, a most shameless person.

One, the most sentimental person.

Now, she held Yang Pingsheng tightly, tears streaming down her face.

"You, you, you, you..."

She cried as she tightly gripped Yang Pingsheng's neck, as if trying to meld her entire body into it.

"I knew it, I knew it! Yang Pingsheng, Yang Pingsheng, you son of a bitch, you son of a bitch..."

She cried and cursed at the same time.

"Are you fucking sick? Are you sick? You're a moron, an idiot, the biggest idiot in the world. I should beat you up, then strip you naked and have 180 fat women gang rape you, even 10,000 times wouldn't be enough!"

I missed you so much!!

Volume Four: Shameless People Who Put Profit First

Chapter 128 Flowing Cloud City

It was also a cold winter when Su Murong was born.

Compared to other female villains who showed their extraordinary abilities from birth, Su Murong's birth was just an ordinary one. She cried normally, called out normally, was enveloped in the air of this world normally, and moved her hands and feet to beg for food.

She was a girl, and girls are the least valuable thing in this world.

The Yan Kingdom was already on the decline. Since its peak, it was like a decrepit old man, full of waning energy, half-dead, as if it was about to enter its end. For an empire that was about to enter its end, human life was worthless, let alone a woman's life.

The government was short of money, and the border guards' pay was delayed again and again. In many cases, the decision was made by the garrison commander. The city lord who guarded Liuyun City was under the command of the Northern Border Army and was not a good person himself. After being divided up layer by layer, there was not much left for the ordinary soldiers.

The State of Yan was founded on military strength. In its early years, military pay was divided into two parts: a monthly stipend for the soldiers' families and a soldier's own pay. At that time, the pay wasn't in cash, but primarily in grain. A regular soldier received one shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain per month, while cavalrymen received two shi. If a soldier was married, he received two jin (another unit of dry measure) of salt; otherwise, one jin. Military pay wasn't fixed but calculated based on factors such as combat operations, distance traveled, border defense, environment, and weather.

By the fourth generation, a large number of soldiers deserted, so the court implemented a conscription system, with participation divided into voluntary and conscription. Voluntary participants received five taels of silver as a resettlement allowance, were exempted from five shi of grain tax per family, and were also exempted from corvée labor for two family members. Those conscripted and forced into conscription received only three taels and five fen of silver as a resettlement allowance, and were exempted from corvée labor for only one family member. Simultaneously, due to the conscription system, monthly stipends and soldier pay were abolished, and each soldier received only four dou of grain per month as rations.

When the late emperor ascended the throne, the standard allowance for settling down was reduced to three taels, but the monthly pay system was reinstated. In addition to their monthly rations, soldiers received an extra one to five taels of cash as a monthly pay, the exact amount depending on the actual situation.

In the later years of the late emperor's reign, the court's deficit grew larger and larger. The ministers only reported good news to the emperor and not bad news. On the surface, the standard for monthly pay was raised to two to six taels of silver, but it was hard to say how much the soldiers actually received.

Basically, from that time onwards, the imperial court had already been in arrears with the army's pay. The standing armies in various places were all given the title of general, such as the "Guan Family Army" and the "Nan Family Army". In many cases, local generals had to take money out of their own pockets to subsidize the soldiers.

Liuyun City is under the jurisdiction of the Northern Border Prefecture. The border defense officer of the Northern Border Prefecture is surnamed Wang, named Hao, and styled Tiande. Therefore, the Northern Border Prefecture army is also called the "Wang Family Army". The military defense of Liuyun City is also considered to be within the Wang Family Army. However, not all generals are so selfless as to use their own money to make up for the army's deficit. On the contrary, he will put the military pay into his own pocket.

Unlike the one in Guan's army, Wang Tiande only greedily sought personal gain and never compensated his subordinates, and they were all the same.

It makes sense; with superiors who are corrupt and lazy, what's the point of their subordinates working so hard? As a result, the city lord of Liuyun City neglected to maintain military discipline, leaving this border city not only defenseless but also with its soldiers starving to death. If Tie Wangu were to lead an attack, the city lord would likely be the first to surrender.

In fact, it was already considered surrender. Every winter, barbarians would come to collect protection money. They would ride their horses and swagger into the city, robbing anything they saw and kidnapping any pretty women they saw. The old soldiers at the city gate treated them like dirt, and if they were kicked, they would have to say thank you.

This has been the case year after year. The Northern Prefecture doesn't care, the City Lord of Liuyun City is indifferent, and even the common people have become numb to it. No family wants to have a daughter. In this place, daughters are considered a financial burden. If they are ugly, they can't get married; if they are beautiful, they have no chance of getting married. In the entire Liuyun City, probably only the City Lord's government and a few large merchants dare to have daughters.

The barbarians have come every year and have figured out a pattern to their raids. They are clever enough to know that the city lord's mansion and those beautifully built residences are off-limits. The city lord allows them to rob the common people, but if they rob his house or the few business leaders who dominate the surrounding area, he will fight to the death.

Furthermore, those leaders all have their own private armies. They may not be good at fighting, but they can certainly protect their own security.

So, as they fought for it, both sides developed a set of unspoken rules. Every year, the barbarians would send a few small groups of troops to plunder and leave, never venturing any deeper. The city lord and a few leaders would turn a blind eye, figuring that as long as the barbarians didn't rob them, they would suffer the hardship and bear the blame.

But this year, it's not possible.

According to the system, this year will be the biggest cold wave yet, and the barbarians will not be able to survive on the grasslands.

It's not just about looting; they will launch a large-scale invasion, heading straight for the heart of the Central Plains.

Liuyun City was the first city they captured. From Liuyun City onwards, through the fall of the Northern Territory and the defeat of the royal army, the barbarians were about to invade.

However, this had nothing to do with Su Murong. She hid in the corner and watched. Seeing that the other party was unharmed after being hit by her stick, she turned and left.

"This guy looks weak, but he's actually quite durable. One hit won't knock him out."

She muttered to herself, rummaging through his bag and pulling out some loose silver coins.

"So much money!!"

She stared in astonishment, her mouth agape, her eyes gleaming.

Although Liuyun City is called a city, it lacks the prosperity of other cities. The streets are deserted, with only a few scattered shops. Su Murong ran into a tavern, where the shopkeeper's head throbbed at the sight of him.

"It's you again? Go away, go somewhere else. If you want to beg, go beg somewhere else."

"Who do you think you are?" Su Murong was young, but she didn't have the corresponding childlike innocence. Seeing that the shopkeeper was not in a good mood, she immediately slammed the table and shouted, "I am a customer today. Try kicking me out again."

With a snap, she raised the hand that had been slamming on the table, revealing a piece of broken silver.

The shopkeeper was somewhat surprised and looked at her suspiciously: "I'm afraid you've been scamming some out-of-towner."

"What are you saying? What kind of talk is that!" Su Murong wailed again, "Can't I earn it through my own abilities?"

"Come on, everyone knows what kind of little liar you are. You think you've made any money? With your skinny body, you wouldn't even be wanted if you sold your ass."

"You old fool, stop spouting so much nonsense." Su Murong was uncompromising. "I saw you coming out of Widow Zhang's house just a few days ago. You're so old, don't you care about being a flirt? And you come here to lecture me?"

"you……"

The shopkeeper was about to suggest going back, but then he thought about the girl's nature and decided against it.

Don't get angry, don't get angry. There's no need to get angry at such a scoundrel. It's not worth ruining your health.

"what would you like?"

"Hey, hey, give me a few more big steamed buns, and this roast chicken, pack them all up for me!"

"Can you finish all of this?"

"Mind your own business, hurry up!!"

"Fine, fine, I give up."

A short while later, the shopkeeper wrapped the food she had ordered in yellow paper. Su Murong picked it up and left, leaving the shopkeeper dumbfounded. He quickly grabbed her and asked, "Where's the money?"

"Take it on credit first."

"On credit again? Don't you have money?"

Su Murong sighed, turned around, stood on tiptoe, patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder, and said with a serious expression:

"Old ghost, you don't want others to know that you broke into a widow's house at night, do you?"

Chapter 129 Su Murong's Home

Su Murong's home is located on the edge of Liuyun City.