My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 141: Discovering the Theft

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the Lou family's cook got up.

As usual, he prepared to go to the kitchen to make breakfast. But as soon as he pushed open the kitchen door, he froze.

The kitchen was empty; there was nothing there.

The pot was gone, the bowl was gone, even the cutting board, knife, and chopsticks had vanished without a trace, as if they had been uprooted.

The chef was so frightened he almost lost his mind. He quickly turned around and ran to find the housekeeper.

The butler was taking a walk in the courtyard when he saw the cook rushing over in a panic. He was furious and frowned, saying, "What's going on? What kind of behavior is this, shouting so early in the morning?"

The cook, panting and pale, stammered, "The...the housekeeper...the kitchen...it's gone!"

"What's gone?" The butler was taken aback, thinking he had misheard.

The chef waved his hands anxiously and led the butler to the back kitchen, saying, "See for yourself, you'll see for yourself!"

The housekeeper followed the chef to the kitchen door, and when he looked inside, he was stunned.

The once bustling kitchen is now so clean that not a single grain of rice can be seen.

The butler's face instantly darkened, and he said angrily, "What on earth is going on?!"

The chef shrank back in fright, saying pitifully, "I don't know either! I came in this morning, and... and it turned out like this..."

The butler took a deep breath, suppressing his shock and anger, and said in a deep voice, "Don't wander off. Stay here and guard this place. Don't leave! I'll go check if anything else has been stolen!"

After saying that, the butler turned and left, his steps noticeably faster than before, and his face growing increasingly grim.

After leaving the kitchen, the butler walked briskly towards the front hall.

He froze as soon as he entered the room.

The valuable calligraphy and paintings that used to hang on the wall are gone.

The antique vases and jade ornaments that were placed on the table and the display shelf have all disappeared.

The entire hall was empty, with only a few tables and chairs remaining, so clean it looked as if it had been thoroughly ransacked.

The butler's forehead instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

He had lived in the Lou family for over a decade, and he could find the location of every single item in the main hall with his eyes closed. But now, everything had changed.

If it weren't for the familiar floor beneath his feet and the beams overhead, he might have thought he had gone to the wrong place.

"This...this is impossible..."

The butler muttered to himself, his hands and feet beginning to tremble slightly.

He forced himself to remain calm and searched back and forth in the hall, but the more he searched, the more his heart sank.

There's nothing left.

Not a single copper coin or a small ornament was left behind.

The housekeeper finally realized that this was definitely not a simple theft, but that someone had taken all the valuables from the Lou family!

He no longer cared about rules and turned to run upstairs.

Upon arriving at Lou Bancheng's bedroom door, the butler pounded on it forcefully, his voice trembling noticeably: "Master! Master! Open the door! Open the door now!"

At this moment, Lou Bancheng was still asleep.

Awakened by the urgent knocking, he instantly flew into a rage, sat bolt upright, and roared, "Who is it! Trying to get yourself killed so early in the morning?!"

The butler outside the door was so anxious he was almost in tears, his voice trembling with sobs: "Master! Something terrible has happened! Something horrible!"

Upon hearing the words "something happened," Lou Bancheng's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly became much more alert.

He frowned, quickly putting on his pajamas as he asked in a low voice, "What happened? Tell me slowly!"

The butler, anxiously stamping his feet outside the door, cried out, "Master, please open the door! You'll see for yourself!"

Lou Bancheng didn't dare to delay. He hurriedly put on his slippers, walked a few steps to the door, and pulled it open.

Seeing the butler's pale face and trembling body, Lou Bancheng's unease intensified: "What happened?"

The butler looked up at Lou Bancheng, his face deathly pale, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Master... he's gone... all gone..."

Lou Bancheng's heart sank. He grabbed the butler by the collar and shouted sternly, "What's gone?! Explain yourself!"

The butler trembled with fear, pointing downstairs and stammering, "Master, all your antique paintings and calligraphy... and all your valuables... are gone! Even the kitchen... has been emptied!"

"What?!"

Lou Bancheng was struck dumb, and the sleepiness on his face vanished instantly.

He couldn't believe his ears, shoved the butler aside, and ran downstairs like a madman.

When he rushed into the hall and saw the empty space before him, he froze.

The calligraphy and paintings on the wall are gone, the antiques on the display shelf are gone, and even some of the ornaments that were originally placed in the corner are all gone.

The entire hall was eerily clean, as if it had been thoroughly ransacked.

"No...it's impossible..."

Lou Bancheng muttered to himself, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

He suddenly remembered something and turned around and rushed to the study like a madman.

Lou Bancheng suddenly pushed open the hidden door to the study's secret room, and a chill instantly rushed out.

In the dim light, he looked closely and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

The shelves that were once piled high with gold and silver jewelry are now completely empty; the priceless antiques and paintings, boxes of silver dollars and gold have all vanished as if they had never existed.

The butler, who was following behind, peeked out and was so shocked that his legs went weak, and his voice trembled: "This...how is this possible?! This secret room is so small that even a fly can't get in!"

Lou Bancheng, his face grim, strode into the depths of the secret room. He fumbled around in an extremely hidden corner for a few moments and opened an inconspicuous hidden compartment box.

When he saw that the thick ledgers inside were safe and sound, his tense nerves relaxed a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He secretly rejoiced: it seemed the thieves were only after the money. The contents of these ledgers were far more deadly than any gold or jewels.

After closing the box, Lou Bancheng turned and walked out of the secret room, his relief instantly replaced by overwhelming rage.

He stared intently at the trembling butler, gritting his teeth as he roared, "Go! Bring in all those useless bodyguards outside! I want to ask them, with all this commotion, are they dead? Or are they all blind?!"

Soon, the bodyguards outside rushed in.

When they saw the study was completely empty, they all stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.

Lou Bancheng glared at the group of bodyguards, his anger flaring. Pointing at their noses, he roared, "Is this how you protect me?! Your entire house was robbed, and you didn't even notice?!"

The bodyguards looked at each other, stunned by what they saw.

At this moment, the lead bodyguard stepped forward with a stiff upper lip and said with his head bowed, "Sir, we really don't know what happened. We were on patrol all night and didn't hear anything or see anyone come in."

"No?!"

Lou Bancheng was so angry that he trembled all over and kicked the lead bodyguard in the stomach.

"I think you're all a bunch of useless trash!"

Lou Bancheng roared, "I've spent so much money supporting you all, just so you could eat and do nothing?! The house has been emptied out, and you're saying you didn't know anything?!"

The lead bodyguard was kicked back a few steps, clutching his stomach and not daring to utter a sound.

The other bodyguards were also so frightened that they shrank back and didn't dare to breathe.

Lou Bancheng was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, clearly extremely angry.