Shen Xinyan couldn't figure out what he was thinking, and didn't want to ask any more questions. She just sat there quietly, looking at him with gentle eyes.

In this life, Fang can no longer easily sow discord between them like she did in the last life. Does that mean that their relationship will be greatly improved compared to the last life? At least, Brother Lin will trust her more and be closer to her, right?

As soon as this thought came into my mind, a little man in black immediately jumped out of my head and slapped it back with force.

"Here it comes again, you really refuse to repent! No, you have died and reborn but still refuse to repent. You have wasted the chance that God gave you to start over!" The little man in black was furious at his lack of resistance.

"Pooh, pooh, pooh!! What's the matter? Who says that the path of the previous life will be repeated in this life! It is obvious that Brother Lin in this life is more approachable than in the previous life!" The little man in white clothes appeared immediately, put his hands on his hips, and refuted without giving in.

"Ptui, tui, tui! Now that he is young, everything is easy to say. But when he grows up and meets the love of his life, Zhou Wanning, won't you still have to stay away from him? You may even have to humble yourself to Zhou Wanning to avoid the same fate as in your previous life!" The little man in black once again came up with a universal excuse to attack.

"You're talking nonsense. Everything depends on human effort. Brother Lin is not a heartless person who is disloyal, unfilial, unkind, or unjust. As long as you treat him well with all your heart, you will always be rewarded!"

"Tsk, what a man-made disaster. Didn't you treat him well enough in your last life? You almost worshipped him as your ancestor, but what's the result? You ended up like that just because you offended his sweetheart." The little man in black sneered.

"The previous life is the previous life, and this life is this life..." The little man in white once again pulled out the universal banner of counterattack.

"Bah!" The little man in black spat at her with disdain.

"Counterattack, bah!" The little man in white did not give in.

"Counterattack, counterattack, bah!"

"Counterattack, counterattack, counterattack, bah!"

…

Wei Chenglin had mixed feelings. The words he heard outside the Grand Princess's room during the day kept echoing in his mind, making him absent-minded the whole afternoon. He even made several mistakes in his sword moves. The martial arts teacher thought he was not feeling well and let him go early.

He was not feeling unwell physically, but he felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

As far as he can remember, the person who has been with him the longest is his stern grandfather. Although his grandfather treated him well, he was also very strict with him. When Qi Ge'er was three or four years old, he could still stay with his mother. When he was three or four years old, he had already started to study and practice martial arts under the personal supervision of his grandfather.

Every day, he would get up before dawn, run around the martial arts field with the guards, and then do horse stance. After doing horse stance, he would bathe, change clothes, have breakfast with his grandfather, and then start reading and practicing calligraphy.

He didn't have to study, but learning martial arts always required some pain. Especially when he first started practicing, he would fall down and his body would be covered with bruises. At first, he would cry in pain, but his grandfather would give him a stern look and he would immediately stop crying.

After his grandfather reprimanded him that "a man shouldn't shed tears easily", he never dared to cry in front of others again, even if he was badly injured after falling.

Those days were hard and difficult. Sleeping alone in the dormitory at night, he would always hide under the quilt and secretly wipe away his tears, thinking about his father, mother, grandmother, and Funing Hospital.

He wanted to go back to Funing House and be with his mother, but his grandfather would not allow it, saying that "a loving mother often spoils her son". If he continued to cling to his mother's arms, he would sooner or later become a good-for-nothing, prodigal son.

As time went by, he stopped thinking about it and devoted himself to learning martial arts and studying with his grandfather. He didn't even know when he started to get used to his mother's closeness. Especially since he had grown up, his mother still treated him like a three-year-old child, asking about everything and caring about everything, which made him feel even more uncomfortable.

However, it was only today that he suddenly realized that his alienation and coldness had actually made his mother, who regarded him as the treasure of her life, feel uneasy.

Her anxiety had even reached the point where she was afraid that the relationship between mother and son would become increasingly distant, which would become a lifelong regret. She was even willing to risk being accused of being unfilial and confront her grandmother just to gain control of all matters in the courtyard.

She is his biological mother, they are blood relatives, and they are lifelong relatives!

"Mother..." Looking at the woman in front of him who was obviously distracted, he could no longer hold back his choked voice and called out. He successfully called back Shen Xinyan, who was having a headache because of the two little people childishly arguing in her head.

"Hmm?" Shen Xinyan rubbed her forehead. She was about to go crazy from the ridiculous arguments in her head, so she didn't notice that his expression was different.

"Mother, I am unfilial. I have not fulfilled my responsibilities as a son, and instead have made you worry about me day and night."

Shen Xinyan was startled, then came back to her senses and looked at him. She was surprised to see that his eyes were red, and his face, which looked like his father's, was full of sadness and uneasiness.

Sad and uneasy? She couldn't believe what she saw.

It seemed like a long, long time ago, so long ago that her son was just a pink ball who loved to stick to her; or even closer, as close as the first year when he was taken away by the Duke of England. Only at those times did she see his tears.

However, to her, her son's tears were too far away, two lifetimes apart. So far away that the impression he left on her was either expressionless or heartbroken and disappointed.

As for who he was sad and disappointed with, it was naturally her mother, the disgusting and wicked mother-in-law who always made things difficult for his wife!

"Why do you think so?" She tried hard to suppress her negative emotions and gave him a not-so-pretty smile.

"I heard what my mother said to my grandmother today. It's my fault. I shouldn't have made my mother so upset. But mother, no matter what time it is, no matter what happens, you will always be the mother I respect the most!"

Wei Chenglin had always felt that he would never be able to say those cheesy words like the Yue brothers from the third room. But strangely, he did not feel uncomfortable at all when he said these words.

Shen Xinyan bit her lips so hard that she didn't even notice that her nails were broken at some point.

She didn't know what he knew or discovered that made him look at her like that and say those words. She should have been very happy that her son could finally understand her, but for some reason, she felt like crying.

She wanted to cry, wanted to cry loudly, cry for the self in her previous life who was trapped in the temple and lived a life worse than death, cry for the self in her previous life who was heartbroken by him, and cry even more for the self who, after death, was still unwilling to go back to look for him after her soul wandered.

No matter what time it is, no matter what happens, she will always be the mother he respects the most. Is it really like this? Is it really like this? She found that she could no longer believe it. The bloody lessons of her previous life were whipping her soul all the time.

She lowered her eyes to hide her tears, and suppressed those negative emotions with the greatest willpower in her life. When she raised her head again, her face had returned to calm, and no one could tell that she looked any different.

"Mother is very happy that you think so, Lin. You are still young now and cannot do without mother's care. When you grow up, get married and have your own family..."

"Mother, are you worried that your son will 'forget his mother after getting married'?" Wei Chenglin interrupted her.

Shen Xin was stunned, with a look of discomfort on her face.

Indeed, she thought so, but that didn't mean she would say such words to her young son. She just felt a little overwhelmed when he suddenly revealed her thoughts.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Last time I heard Third Aunt scolding Yue'er, saying that he was obsessed with pretty girls at such a young age, and that he would forget his mother after getting married." Wei Chenglin felt a little embarrassed. After all, eavesdropping on the words of elders was not a glorious thing.

Shen Xinyan was speechless.

This is exactly what Yang would say.

Somehow I thought of what I heard from Chunliu about Wei Junhang's series of actions after she was punished to kneel in the Buddhist temple. I couldn't help but sigh that when it comes to handling the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, this outstanding son is far inferior to his father.

"…With you, father and sister, this is my home. Even if, well, in the future, I get married, I will still be filial to you and father." The little boy was shy and his face turned red when he talked about getting married. But thinking that this was the promise he made to his mother, he still said it in a low voice while holding back his embarrassment.

Shen Xinyan smiled when she heard that, and stroked his head tenderly, her voice extremely gentle, as if she was afraid of startling him.

"Really? Then mother will wait, wait for Brother Lin and your wife to be filial."

The boy's face finally flushed, and he nodded a little shyly, as if he was afraid that the force was not enough, and replied with a red face: "Yes!"

Shen Xinyan just looked at him and smiled, but didn't say a word.

Since her son has such an awareness, she will just wait. She has experienced the worst endings in her previous life. Even if the ending of this life is miserable, can it be more miserable than her previous life?

She has nothing in her two lives, but she has a lot of life! Look, she died once and was able to come back to life again. How many people in the world can have the same situation as her?

"Ah! My brother's face is like a monkey's butt!" The little girl's crisp and loud scream suddenly rang out. The mother and son looked over at the same time, and saw Xiao Yingzhi running back at some point, leaning against the door, pointing at Wei Chenglin and laughing.

Wei Chenglin's face turned even redder after being laughed at by his sister, but he still tried to save face for his brother: "Nonsense, what a monkey's ass, girls, girls are not allowed to say such indecent words."

The six-year-old girl didn't care about him and laughed even louder, holding her stomach.

Wei Junhang, who was following behind his daughter, smiled and hugged her to rub her belly. He glanced at his son who was blushing and at a loss, and finally couldn't help laughing out loud.

Good, this time I’m finally not that old-fashioned anymore!

Shen Xinyan couldn't help laughing as she watched the father and daughter making fun of their son. Then she looked at her son whose face was almost flushed and started laughing too.

After going through all this, Shen Xinyan felt that the mother and son had become much closer. At least when Wei Chenglin came to her, he no longer always had a stern face. Occasionally, he would be teased by his naughty sister and would be at a loss what to do, and would frequently ask her for help.

That day, she and Wei Junhang and his wife accompanied the Grand Princess for lunch. She thought that the Grand Princess would still have a grudge against her because of what happened last time, but she didn't know whether it was because the Grand Princess was very good at concealing it or she was just being insensitive. In any case, she couldn't sense any change in the Grand Princess' attitude towards her.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

***

"Madam, the third aunt wants to see you!"

That day, she was sewing clothes for her daughter when she heard Qiutang come to report.

Shen Xinlan? She frowned.