The leader of the strongmen who broke into the Zhou family was him.

The servant went to the front yard to find someone. Prefect Liu pushed open the door to the study, took out a tinderbox to light the oil lamp, and casually glanced around the study.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief. Prefect Liu rubbed his eyes and opened them again. He was right. The study that his wife had carefully arranged was completely empty. The desks, display shelves, and walls were bare, having been ransacked.

Prefect Liu was greatly alarmed. He had only left the study for a short while, and everything in the study had vanished without a trace. It was simply unbelievable.

Could it be that his mansion has been invaded by notorious bandits, not just one, but possibly a group?

The treasure he had hidden in the secret room... Prefect Liu's heart pounded. Without even calling for help, he rushed to the secret room and opened the hidden door... The room was empty; nothing was left.

With a clang, the oil lamp slipped from his hand. Prefect Liu was so angry that he became dizzy and unsteady on his feet. In his extreme rage, he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

In the backyard, Madam Liu Shilan was removing hairpins and ornaments from her hair at her dressing table when someone quietly approached from behind. Madam Liu raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "You silly boy, still coming at this hour? Aren't you afraid the old man will see you?"

The man chuckled softly, picked up Madam Liu, and walked towards the bed. "What are you afraid of? He wouldn't bear to leave behind all those treasures in the house."

Mentioning this, Madam Liu struggled to get out of bed, sat down on the bed, her eyes flashing, her fingers resting on her knees, "To be honest, aren't you tempted by that money? The old man is only thinking about getting promoted, and he takes all the money to bribe officials. No matter how I try to persuade him, he won't listen. It's infuriating."

"Don't worry, I'm here." The man sat down next to Madam Liu, roughly pulling her into his arms, and teased, "He's stupid, but I'm not. Once I get the money, I'll take you, my darling, and run away together, hahaha~"

"Get lost, stop teasing me. I'm old and faded, you'd never take me with you." Madam Liu hooked her arm around the man's neck, coquettishly pleading.

"Who said that? You're the one who's not old..."

"Help! Help! Catch the thief!"

The two people who were embracing were startled by the shouts from the yard and quickly separated.