Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Tanya was woken up groggily: "Xiao'e, why aren't you sleeping? Something's wrong!"

"What time is it? You and Dad have been scammed! Our house was burgled last night!"

"Did you get robbed?" Upon hearing this, Tanya Li tried to get up, forgetting that there was still something in the bed...

"oh!"

"What's wrong, Mommy?"

"It's alright, it's alright, you can go back inside first."

"Why are you going back to your room? Our house has been burgled! Why aren't you worried at all?"

"What's the use of being anxious? You think you can get it back? You need to stay calm in the face of trouble. What have I taught you? Go back to your room first."

Tanya frowned as she watched her daughter walk with her toes pointed out. Then she thought about how soundly she and her husband were sleeping. Someone must have drugged them.

He first touched himself all over, then looked down and found nothing amiss.

Only then did he get up to change his clothes, and then leaned close to Lou Bancheng's nose to listen to his breathing.

She didn't wake him. She glanced around the room and saw nothing but the bed and dressing table.

It hurt to part with the money, but nothing was more important than his daughter. He went out and went to Lou Xiao'e's room.

After glancing around the room, Tanya Li, as usual, still harbored a glimmer of hope.

"Mommy, come and sit down quickly."

The mother and daughter sat hand in hand on the bed: "Xiao'e, no one came into your room last night, right?"

Lou Xiao'e lowered her head and remained silent.

Tanya Li became a little uneasy: "Did a thief break in?"

Lou Xiao'e gently bit her red lips and slowly lifted her pajamas.

When Tanya saw the words written on her daughter's chest, she couldn't sit still and paced back and forth in the room: "What... what should we do about this? You'd better go wash it off quickly."

"I'm afraid Li Ma will find out!"

"Why didn't you resist back then? You could have at least yelled!"

Lou Xiao'e's eyes welled up with tears of grievance: "Mommy... I was still half asleep at the time, I thought I was dreaming. How could I have known it was real!"

After pacing around for a while, Tan Yali calmed down and sat back on the bed: "Xiao'e, don't be afraid. You must keep this a secret. We need to find you a husband as soon as possible."

"Why...?"

"You don't understand. If a woman doesn't take precautions the first time, it's very easy for her to get pregnant. The longer it goes on, the greater the chance of it being discovered."

"I... I seem to have a vague recollection of that person, if..."

"If what?"

"If... like last night, I should be able to recognize him."

"Does he have any distinctive features? Or is there a mole on his body...?"

"It is quite distinctive."

Tanya quickly pressed, "What features?"

Lou Xiao'e lowered her head and remained silent.

"Just tell me already, you're driving me crazy!"

"That...that person isn't an ordinary person."

"What, that thing?"

"That's the one."

Tanya Li understood: "How do you know it's not an ordinary person, given it's your first time as a young woman?"

"More than you—more than the one in your bed..."

Tan Yali became embarrassed by this: "Xiao'e, you know, your father is several years older than me..."

"Mommy, I understand you!"

"Good girl!" he said, pulling Xiao'e into his arms.

"Having only one skill isn't enough; we can't just search the entire bathhouse for someone!"

"Also, I think he's quite young. Oh, by the way, Mommy, can you check the back of the bed? Is there anything written there too?" With that, Lou Xiao'e turned over and lay face down on the bed.

When Tanya Li saw the words "Lou Xiao'e PG," she instinctively cursed, "You filthy scoundrel!"

"Mommy, what did you write?"

Tanya Li couldn't answer the question. "I'll get you a mirror, see for yourself."

Lou Xiao'e turned her head and saw the words in the mirror. She was also unsettled: "How could this be?"

"Wait here, I'll get you a basin of water, wash up first."

Tanya went downstairs, glanced at the bare living room, sighed, and turned to go into the backyard.

Aunt Liu is pacing back and forth in the backyard.

"Please fetch me a basin of water."

"Madam, it's all gone, everything's gone! Please come inside and check!"

You don't even need to go inside; you can see it from the doorway. The kitchen is spotless. They didn't even spare the iron pot on the stove. Not to mention the water tank, even the water ladle is gone.

"The food is all gone too?"

"Everything is gone, except for this swill-dwelling old man next to you."

"I understand. I'll have the master call his driver later and buy all the groceries for the kitchen. We can't let them go hungry!" With that, she turned and headed upstairs.

After reading the words behind Xiao'e, Tan Yali felt a slight unease in her heart.

This thief isn't blind; he knows how to appreciate things. Although I'm not as young as I used to be, I still have my charm.

"Just wait, the backyard is now teeming with rats, much cleaner than upstairs. I'll go wake your dad up and have his driver go out to buy something."

After being woken up, Lou Bancheng looked at the bare bedroom.

He asked calmly, "Did you attract a thief?"

"Hmm, they should be the same group that stole from Old Ma's house a few years ago."

"Fortunately, we've transferred most of our assets out of the country. I knew our family wouldn't escape this disaster. As long as we're all safe and sound, I'm glad Xiao'e is alright!"

Lou Bancheng saw that she didn't speak

He quickly followed up with, "What's wrong with Xiao'e?"

"It's been ruined!"

"Is she alright? How is Xiao'e feeling?" he asked, heading towards his daughter.

"He's alright, and his emotions are quite stable!"

"That's good, that's good. Yali, I'll go report it to the police. When the Six Doors people arrive, just say this..."

"You mean, you want to publicize the theft of our property!"

"Yes, just say that everything in our house has been stolen. Remember, everything."

"Understood! We need to find Xiao'e a husband quickly, in case she gets pregnant..."

"If it's that fast, from introducing someone to getting engaged and then married, this whole process must take at least six months!"

"Stubborn to the end, still clinging to old customs! The country is promoting thrift these days, and ordinary families don't need so many formalities!"

"You want to marry Xiao'e off to an ordinary person?"

"Well, in this world, families like ours aren't popular. Xu Fugui's wife came to our house the other day, implying that she wanted to arrange a marriage between us, but I didn't respond to her."

After thinking for a moment, Lou Bancheng said, "Xu Fugui's son works in the propaganda department of our steel rolling mill. As long as I'm here, that kid won't dare mistreat our daughter. I think it's a good idea!"

Thanks to the Lou family's instigation, this theft case became much more high-profile than the original theft case at Ma Xingbang's house.

Almost everyone in Beijing knew about it.

Niu Dazhuang originally planned to rob the Lou family of everything in one night, but after he had ravaged Lou Xiao'e's house, he suddenly changed his mind.

Given their family's social standing, they'll have to hide out sooner or later. If they really robbed their house of everything, how would they survive?

You should cherish your own woman!