Luo Lan came to the bedside, looked at An An, who was disheveled, and took her into his arms distressedly.
"An An, what's wrong with you? Are you in a bad mood? I'm sorry, I should have come back to see you earlier. I'm sorry."
"mother……"
An An leaned his head on her chest as if relieved of a heavy burden, shivering and shaking his head vigorously.
"Mom, it's An An who is sorry for Mom."
Luo Lan gently stroked her head and felt her body trembling in her arms. She realized that she must have encountered something that she couldn't solve herself.
She hurriedly pushed her away from her arms and looked at her gently.
"An An, what happened? Are you hiding something from mother?"
An An shook her head vigorously, but her eyes kept avoiding, as if she didn't dare to look Luo Lan in the eye.
"An An, you grew up under my watch. I know your every move very well. Something must be wrong with you. Tell me what happened. Don't worry, as long as I'm here, I'll handle anything for you."
An An still bit her lips tightly, and even though her face turned pale, she didn't dare to speak.
Luo Lan didn't know what to do. She looked at her distressedly and raised her hand to pull out the loose hair on her forehead.
"An An, you've lost weight. I heard you haven't eaten well these past two days. How could that be? Wait, I'll have someone make you some porridge."
"Mom, I'm not hungry."
An An held her arm,
"Mom, I'm not hungry, please stay with me for a while!"
Seeing An An like a frightened kitten, Luo Lan nodded distressedly and then hugged her in his arms.
"Okay, didn't Mom tell you a long time ago that whenever you miss me, just go find me."
"But that's the imperial palace. I always feel it's so strange. When I see you wearing those gorgeous clothes, I also feel you're so strange. You're not like my previous mother. Only in Prince Yu's Mansion do I feel you're my mother."
An An's words touched the softest part of Luo Lan's heart.
She had the same idea, but what could she do?
She sighed lightly, then said slowly:
"Mother knows I've neglected you, but your father is the Emperor of Daning State, and I'm the Empress of Daning State, so I have no choice but to live in the palace. Otherwise, I promise you that I'll leave the palace and spend two days with you every month. Is that okay?"
An An nodded excitedly at first, then bit her lip tightly and shook her head.
"Mom, I'm afraid there won't be this opportunity anymore."
"An An, what are you talking about?"
An An's words filled Luo Lan with doubts. She pushed her out of her arms again and looked at her seriously.
"An An, tell me, are you hiding something from me?"
An An bit her lips tightly, shook her head vigorously, and said nothing.
She didn't want to say it, and Luo Lan didn't ask any more questions. Maybe she was just in a bad mood, and was just being a little pretentious during her rebellious period!
After a while, Yi Cheng came back happily carrying candied date paste. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted loudly,
"An An, stepmother, I'm back."
Hearing his voice, An An sat up straight from Luo Lan's arms. Luo Lan hurriedly stood up to greet him.
"Yicheng, you're sweating all over. You ran out so early in the morning. Are you tired?"
Yi Cheng wiped the sweat from his face and shook his head with a smile.
"Mom, I'm not tired. Sister An An has had a poor appetite recently. She said she wanted to eat the candied date cake from the east side of the city, so I thought of buying it for her."
After saying that, he looked at An An and handed the candied date cake in his hand to her.
"Eat it, and I'll buy you more after you finish it."
An An looked at him gratefully, then grinned.
"Thank you Yicheng."
Yi Cheng scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly.
"Why thank me? I'm your brother, and it's my duty to take care of you. Just tell me what you want to eat in the future, and I'll buy it for you."
Seeing these two unrelated siblings loving each other so much, Luo Lan suddenly felt a little sad.
They are all teenagers, but they have to support each other to run the family. As a mother, I am really terrible.
Thinking of this, she felt even more sorry for An An. She asked An An to eat something first, and then she walked towards the back garden alone.
She felt a tightness in her chest. She didn't understand what was wrong with An An. She used to be a warm and cheerful girl, so why did she suddenly become so cautious and so frightened?
What exactly did she go through?
She thought about it over and over again, but really couldn't figure it out.
After a while, Yi Cheng appeared beside her.
"Mom, I have something to tell you."
She turned around and looked at Yi Cheng, and asked in surprise:
"What's up?"
"I think Sister An An seems to be worried."
"I guess she's worried, but she won't tell me what it is. Can you tell my stepmother?"
Yi Cheng thought for a while, pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I don't know exactly what's going on, but she's been acting so mysterious these past few days. Oh, and I also noticed men's clothes in her room. I couldn't see her often these past few days, and she hasn't been out all day these past few days. I don't know what's going on with her."
There are men's clothes in her room?
Was she being bullied?
Thinking of this, she took a breath, put her hands on Yi Cheng's shoulders, and asked solemnly,
"Is there anyone bullying her in this palace?"
Yi Cheng immediately shook his head.
"That's not the case. Uncle Gang treats us very well, and none of the servants dare to bully us."
"Then why are there men's clothes in her room?"
"I don't know either. At first I thought a man was bullying her, but no one would leave their clothes and hat behind. Later, when I asked her, she denied it and said I must have seen it wrong. I didn't dare to ask her again."
"Then what was she doing the other day when she left early and came back late?"
Yi Cheng pursed his lips and shook his head.
"I don't know. I didn't dare follow her or ask her. Anyway, she was quite happy during those few days, but after that she started to feel depressed. I don't know what happened to her."
Yi Cheng’s words made Luo Lan even more worried. What happened to An An?
Thinking of this, she looked at Yi Cheng with a serious expression.
"Well, after lunch, ask An An to go for a walk with you, and then I'll go check on her room."
"Stepmother, is this...is this appropriate?"
"She doesn't want to talk to us, so this is all we can do. Besides, I'm her mother, and I only want her best. Only if we know why she's become like this can we help her!"
Yi Cheng pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay, stepmother, I'll listen to you."
Luo Lan patted his shoulder and looked at him tenderly.
"Yi Chengzhang has grown a lot taller..."
"Mom, I've been having some vague thoughts lately. Do you think I might be remembering some of the memories I lost?"
Hearing this, Luo Lan looked at him in surprise.
"Really? In what situations do you usually feel trance-like?"
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