After quite some time—
The butler hurried over.
“Master, this old servant just inspected the lock and found no signs of tampering.”
“If that’s the case, then only someone with a key could have entered.”
“But the key has always been with Madam. Logically speaking…”
The butler paused there.
He secretly glanced at Lin Wanfang before continuing,
“And this old servant has always followed your instructions. Every day, I personally inspect the treasury.”
“When I checked it last night, everything was perfectly fine.”
“I never imagined that the treasury would be completely empty.”
The moment Su Yaohua heard this, he spun around and, without another word, slapped Lin Wanfang across the face.
Smack!
“Ah!”
The slap was vicious.
Lin Wanfang cried out in pain and staggered backward several steps.
“Father! Why are you hitting Mother?”
Seeing this, Su Yurou hurried over to support Lin Wanfang and loudly questioned Su Yaohua.
Su Yaohua ignored her completely.
Instead, he glared furiously at Lin Wanfang.
“You wretched woman!”
“Speak!”
“Was it you?”
Clutching her cheek, Lin Wanfang burst into tears.
“Master!”
“How could you suspect me?!”
Tears streamed down her face as she spoke in a sorrowful and aggrieved voice.
“I’ve been with you for so many years.”
“I’ve borne your children and managed this household.”
“How could I possibly do something so treacherous?”
Su Yaohua snorted coldly.
“Hmph.”
“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?”
“The butler already checked. The treasury lock wasn’t forced open.”
“That means it was opened with a key.”
“And only you have the key.”
“If it wasn’t you, who else could it be?”
“I…”
Lin Wanfang was unwilling to accept such an enormous accusation.
Agitated, she hurriedly defended herself.
“Master, it’s true that I have the treasury key.”
“But I’ve spent all these years diligently managing this household.”
“You know exactly what kind of person I am.”
“Besides, whenever I wanted something, I always told you.”
“And you’ve never been stingy with me.”
“Tell me, would I really need to do something like this?”
“Furthermore, didn’t you accompany me to the treasury yesterday?”
“All the valuables were neatly stored there.”
“And now everything is gone.”
“The entire treasury is empty.”
“Even the shelves have disappeared.”
“Tell me yourself—do I have that kind of ability?”
“To empty an entire treasury overnight would require carts and manpower.”
“And from last night until now, we’ve been together the entire time.”
“How could I possibly have had the opportunity to do such a thing?”
Upon hearing her reasoning, Su Yaohua found it reasonable.
The treasury contained dozens of chests filled with gold, silver, and valuables.
Emptying it entirely was no simple task.
Furthermore, such a large-scale operation would certainly have caused a major disturbance.
Yet aside from that dead girl getting married and leaving the house, the mansion had remained quiet throughout the night.
The lock wasn’t forced open.
Lin Wanfang has been with me the whole time.
Not only would she have lacked the opportunity, but she also had no reason to do it.
She’s followed me for years and has managed the household efficiently.
I’ve seen all of that with my own eyes.
But if it wasn’t her… then who was it?
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
His gaze landed on Su Yurou.
Seeing his expression, Su Yurou frowned.
“Father, why are you looking at me like that?”
“You don’t suspect me, do you?”
Su Yaohua opened his mouth as if to say something.
But after thinking it over, he dismissed the idea.
It couldn’t be her.
Meanwhile—
Lin Wanfang’s eyes were swollen from crying.
She beat her chest dramatically.
“That damned thief!”
“That was our entire fortune!”
“Without that money, how are we supposed to survive?”
“How are we supposed to relocate south?”
As she cried, she suddenly grabbed Su Yaohua’s arm.
“Master!”
“It must have been some extraordinarily skilled thief!”
“We need to report this to the authorities immediately!”
“Report it?”
The moment Su Yaohua heard those words, he shook her off.
His face turned dark.
“And what exactly would we report?”
“That the Su Family treasury, which contained enough gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, paintings, and treasures to buy half of Yun City, vanished overnight?”
“I…”
“Hmph!”
“I think you want us dead even faster!”
In these chaotic times, displaying wealth was already a dangerous taboo.
Not to mention that quite a few of those treasures had less-than-honorable origins.
Su Yaohua took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
At that moment—
The butler, who had already gone back inside, came stumbling out again.
His face looked even worse than someone at a funeral.
“Master!”
“Madam!”
“This is terrible!”
“Terrible!”
“What now?!”
Already furious, Su Yaohua turned and roared.
Panting heavily, the butler stammered,
“J-Just now… this old servant checked the accounting office.”
“And… it’s empty too.”
“All the silver dollars and banknotes prepared for this month’s household expenses are gone.”
“And…”
“And what?!”
Su Yaohua demanded furiously.
“And…”
“Madam’s jewelry boxes…”
“Miss’s jewelry collection…”
“And the contents hidden inside the secret compartment in Master’s study…”
“They’ve all disappeared as well!”
“What?!”
Su Yaohua’s vision went black.
He staggered backward.
Fortunately, the butler rushed forward and caught him.
Lin Wanfang let out a shrill scream.
Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
Su Yurou was so shocked that she forgot to cry.
She stood there completely frozen.
“How is this possible…”
“How is this possible…”
Su Yaohua muttered while trembling all over.
“Overnight…”
“The entire Su Family emptied out…”
“This isn’t theft at all.”
“This is practically a full-scale confiscation of assets.”
After muttering to himself, he suddenly exploded in rage.
“Damn it!”
“Who was it?!”
“Who stole everything from my entire Su Family overnight?!”
After shouting, he violently shoved the butler aside and staggered toward his study.
The secret compartment hidden inside the study contained far more than emergency gold bars and foreign currency.
There were also confidential ledgers and correspondence.
With trembling hands, he pushed aside the bookshelf and activated the hidden mechanism.
The compartment popped open.
As expected—
It was completely empty.
Not even a single scrap of paper remained.
“Pfft—!”
The sight caused a surge of blood to rush upward.
Overwhelmed by fury and shock, Su Yaohua spat out a mouthful of blood.
His body swayed dangerously.
“Master!”
The butler was terrified and immediately rushed forward to support him.
Leaning against the bookshelf, Su Yaohua’s face had become as pale as gold paper.
His chest rose and fell violently.
His eyes were filled with fear and despair.
After a long while, he muttered blankly,
“It’s over.”
“The Su Family is completely finished.”
At that moment, his mind was nearly numb from the shock.
Meanwhile—
Su Yurou had already rushed back to her own room.
The moment she saw it, she froze.
Every personal treasure she had secretly hidden—
Her jewelry.
Her valuables.
Even her dresses.
Everything had vanished without a trace.
She stood there like a stone statue.
After a long moment—
“AAAAAHHHHHHH—!!!”
A shrill scream erupted from her throat.
It was so piercing that it sounded almost inhuman.
Even louder and more horrifying than when Lin Wanfang had fainted earlier.
Like a madwoman, she began tearing through the room.
She overturned drawers and rummaged frantically.
Under the bed.
On top of wardrobes.
Even inside flower vases.
She searched everywhere, desperately hoping to find a single surviving possession.
Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing.
That thief had even taken the silver dollars she had hidden inside her pillow stuffing.
“My clothes!”
“My jewelry!”
“Who stole my things?!”
“WHO WAS IT?!”
Su Yurou completely broke down.
She collapsed onto the floor and pounded the ground wildly.
Tears and mucus covered her face.
Her hair was disheveled.
Not a trace remained of the delicate young lady she usually pretended to be.
Those beautiful clothes and precious accessories were practically her entire world.
Now that world had utterly collapsed.
Her screams carried all the way to the study.
Already drowning in despair, Su Yaohua became even more agitated.
He erupted into another violent coughing fit.
Meanwhile, Lin Wanfang, who had just regained consciousness, heard her daughter’s screams.
Scrambling to her feet, she rushed into Su Yurou’s room.
The moment she saw the completely looted room, her vision darkened again.
She nearly fainted a second time.
“That damned thief!”
“Are they trying to destroy our entire family?!”
Clutching her devastated daughter, Lin Wanfang burst into tears.
Mother and daughter cried together in misery.
Their wails echoed throughout the mansion.
The entire Su Family estate was engulfed in an atmosphere of apocalyptic despair and panic.
The servants kneeling in the courtyard trembled uncontrollably.
Not only did they fear becoming the target of their masters’ wrath, but they were also terrified by the realization that the Su Family itself might truly be finished.