When she saw the couple head-on, Shen Xinyan subconsciously wanted to avoid them, but the other party had already seen her and took the initiative to come forward.
She felt irritated for no reason.
Maybe she didn't check the almanac before going out today, so she kept meeting people she didn't want to see again in this life. At the same time, it also indirectly led to her son's first meeting with Zhou Wanning in his life.
Whenever she thought about this, she couldn't help feeling upset.
It's really priceless. I should have known this earlier!
Although she hated the Zhou family in her heart, she would not forget the etiquette and bearing that a wife of a prince of a duke's mansion should have. Seeing this, she bowed slightly and said, "Who is this gentleman?"
Mrs. Zhou also recognized that the 'Mrs. Wei' in front of her was the one she had met once in Lingyun Temple that day, and she paused slightly.
On that day in Lingyun Temple, although the other party concealed it very well, she could still sense that the other party had a hint of hostility towards her. But she was puzzled. In her memory, she had never met this lady, so naturally, she would not have offended her in any way.
Even though he bumped into the lady next to her that day, it was not intentional, so it should not have aroused her hostility.
Zhou Erlang, who was following closely beside his mother, stuck his head out to take a look, then immediately shrank back in fright.
It’s that very fierce lady!
Shen Xinyan accepted Zhou Mao's thanks calmly, and then looked coldly at Zhou Mao as he bowed to Wei Chenglin with gratitude, causing Wei Chenglin to quickly move aside in panic.
"Lord Zhou, there is no need to be so polite. It's just a small gesture. I don't deserve such a great gift from you." After all, the young boy was raised by the Duke of England himself. He had the extraordinary bearing of a young man from an aristocratic family. Seeing this, Zhou Mao nodded secretly.
He is truly a son of a prestigious family, and is much better than those two brats in his family.
At this time, he had already guessed the other party's identity from the jade pendant on Wei Chenglin's waist.
Wearing a golden phoenix and white jade pendant that only a princess of the royal family would have, and with a surname of Wei, it could be no other than the eldest son of the Duke of Ying's mansion who had been raised by the Duke since childhood. And the "Mrs. Wei" beside her, I think, is the current wife of the Duke's son.
At this moment, Xu Sumin also came with her servants. When she saw that Shen Xinyan and her son were safe and sound, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Naturally, she was very polite again.
By the time Shen Xinyan and her son got back on the carriage back to the city, it was already a cup of tea later.
"This young master Wei is no ordinary man. Given time, his future will be limitless." Looking at the carriage gradually disappearing in the flying dust, Zhou Mao suddenly sighed.
"Brother Chenglin is very powerful. He can pull me up with just one hand." Zhou Wanning, whose hand was held by him, suddenly said.
"No matter how powerful he is, he is not as powerful as our eldest brother!" Zhou Erlang interrupted unconvinced.
"Big brother is awesome, and brother Chenglin is awesome too!" the little girl said in a crisp voice.
"What about me?" Zhou Erlang was unwilling to be abandoned by his sister.
"Second brother is the best!" The little girl gave him a sweet smile, which instantly made him smile with pride.
"I see that you are lawless all day long. This reckless and impulsive temper needs to be tempered." Zhou Mao glared at him.
Zhou Erlang shrank his neck, muttered something, and quickly climbed back into the carriage, calling out to his sister, "Sister, come up quickly!"
After the children got into the car, Mrs. Zhou asked hesitantly, "Is that Mrs. Wei an old acquaintance of yours?"
Zhou Mao didn't understand why she asked this question, and shook his head and said, "Today is the first time I met her."
"That's strange. I always feel that she is somewhat hostile to me, but I don't know when I have ever offended her. After thinking about it, could it be a romantic debt you got into in the past?" Mrs. Zhou frowned in confusion.
"You!!" Zhou Mao glared at her angrily, then lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Do you want to be punished again? See how I teach you a lesson tonight!"
Mrs. Zhou's face flushed instantly, and she glanced at him coquettishly.
***
On the way back home, Xu Sumin thought that Shen Xinyan might have something to say to Wei Chenglin, so she considerately gave the carriage to the mother and son, and even pulled Chunliu into her carriage.
Wei Chenglin moved his butt nervously, and from time to time secretly looked at his mother who pursed her lips and said nothing. After a while, he licked his dry lips and stammered, "Mother, mother, I'm sorry. It was my fault for what happened today. I made you worry."
Shen Xinyan didn't notice what he said, her thoughts had already drifted far away.
Zhou Mao took his wife and children to take up his new post today, and it was the first time for her to go out alone with her son. Such a rare opportunity actually allowed Lin Ge'er and Zhou Wanning to meet seven years earlier in their lives.
Wait, did these two really meet seven years earlier, rather than following the path of their previous life?
No one had ever told her that her son was Zhou Wanning, whom she met when she was 17 years old. She thought so herself.
It was because in her last life, her son Lin started to behave strangely at the age of seventeen. He would suddenly pay attention to women's accessories and clothes, and would care about desserts that only girls and children would like. Occasionally, he would stare blankly by himself, and then reveal a dreamy smile.
All signs indicate that her brother Lin has found a girl he likes.
And it was also when his son was seventeen years old that he rejected the eldest princess and the wife candidate she had chosen for him, saying that he already had someone in his heart.
This person is Zhou Wanning, the daughter of Zhou Mao who is gradually gaining the respect of the current emperor!
She rubbed her forehead with a headache.
Is it really inevitable?
"Mother?" Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Wei Chenglin felt even more guilty. He hurriedly sat down beside her considerately and stretched out his hand to massage her temples.
Shen Xinyan blocked his hand: "No need!"
Wei Chenglin thought she was still upset with him, and his eyes dimmed.
"Does Brother Lin like the little girl from the Zhou family very much?" Shen Xinyan asked without noticing.
"Like?" Wei Chenglin was confused, and shook his head after a moment, "This is only the first time my son has seen her today, how can he say whether he likes her or not."
After a slight pause, he continued, "It's just that Sister Awan is very well-behaved and sensible, and she is also very cute, which makes people like her easily."
Seeing his mother staring at him without saying anything, Wei Chenglin felt a little uneasy: "Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"No, you are right. But we only met once, so why should I talk about whether I like you or not?" Shen Xinyan shook her head slowly and said softly.
But what she was thinking in her heart was - this person was obviously so cold and hard to get close to, yet he called her 'Sister Awan' so affectionately. If he said he didn't like her, how could she believe it?
It's just that this liking has not yet evolved into love between a man and a woman. Perhaps it's just a beautiful memory of the first meeting of the two parties who were "destined to be together". When they meet again in the future, this memory will take root and sprout, and bear the fruit called "love". They will swear to be together forever, no matter what, and they must be together.
"Mother doesn't like Sister Awan and her family?" Wei Chenglin was naturally sensitive, so how could he not notice his mother's coldness and alienation towards the Zhou family.
"Yeah, I don't like them!" Shen Xinyan admitted frankly.
Wei Chenglin's heart clenched. He didn't know why he felt so sad, but he quickly concealed it.
"Why would mother dislike them? I once heard from my grandfather that Prime Minister Zhou's eldest son is a capable and down-to-earth official. Today, I saw Lord Zhou, who was well-mannered and polite, and had an extraordinary demeanor. He is indeed a rare good official. Mrs. Zhou is gentle and kind, and takes good care of her children. Sister Awan is cute and adorable..."
"You have only been with them for a short while, how do you know that Lord Zhou is a rare good official? Didn't your grandfather ever teach you what it means to 'know a man's face but not his heart'? Who among the beasts in human form in the world does not appear to be a humble gentleman on the surface?" Shen Xinyan was impatient to listen to him talking about how good the Zhou family was, so she interrupted him directly and said maliciously.
Wei Chenglin wanted to explain a few words, but seeing her unhappy face, he didn't dare to say anything. He just felt unwilling in his heart, and pursed his lips, clearly disagreeing with her words.
Shen Xinyan couldn't help but sneer in her heart. After a while, she felt a strong sense of self-contempt.
Although she was a woman in the inner court, she had heard of Zhou Mao's good reputation as an official in her previous life. It was indeed biased to describe him as "two-faced, with a beastly heart".
She felt that the peace she had worked so hard to maintain was once again broken by the Zhou family.
In order to prevent her son from getting close to the Zhou family in the future, she even went so far as to spread rumors to discredit Zhou Mao's reputation.
How is she different from the one who was hated by everyone in her previous life?
The more she thought about this, the more depressed she became, and she fell into deep self-loathing.
Finally, Wei Chenglin couldn't help but ask softly, "Is mother feeling unwell? Why do you look so bad?"
Seeing that Shen Xinyan just shook her head but did not answer him, he said a little uneasily: "Lord Zhou left Beijing with his family today to take up his post. I don't think he will return to Beijing in the short term, mother..."
"If the mother doesn't like them, the child should just stay away from them in the future."
Shen Xinyan looked up at him in surprise and asked in disbelief, "Are you serious? Just because I don't like them, you want to stay away from them?"
Wei Chenglin showed some hesitation, but finally nodded slowly.
Shen Xinyan's eyes were filled with confusion. If her previous self had heard these words, how happy he would have been!
It was unknown how much time had passed before she heaved a long sigh and realized for the first time that the Zhou family was a hurdle in her heart that she could not overcome.
No matter how calm she pretended to be and how little she cared about the future, she could no longer resist the negative emotions that came flooding back to her when it came to Zhou's family, especially Zhou Erlang and Zhou Wanning.
She was even so flustered that she had to ask her son to give in and offer comfort!
However, even though she knew clearly that her behavior today was a little abnormal, and even though she could see the hesitation and reluctance on her son's face when he said he wanted to stay away from the Zhou family, she still couldn't say the words to ask him to take back his words.
The mother and son each had their own thoughts, and they fell silent again in an instant.
The author has something to say:
I still want to make it clear that the author has no intention of blackening any character, nor does he intend to whitewash anyone. As for the setting of the prince, he was actually the hidden golden finger of the "male protagonist" in the previous life, and he is still the golden finger of his son in this life.