"Blind fools! Can't you see these are from Xiliang? All this is the dowry of the Xiliang princess!"
Fan Shun said, utterly speechless. Couldn't they see the obvious markings on the chests that indicated they were from Xiliang?
"The Xiliang princess's dowry!" Zhang Kun's tone held a hint of surprise. After a closer inspection, he marveled, "Truly worthy of a royal princess, such a generous dowry."
Every item within these chests was priceless. If he could have just one box of these treasures, he would be content.
"Don't get any ideas about this dowry. The marriage alliance between two countries concerns matters of state. Even the slightest mistake could trigger war, and if that happened, a hundred of our heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it."
Fan Shun knew Zhang Kun was always greedy for wealth. Ever since he entered, his eyes had been glued to the dowry chests, unable to move even an inch. If Zhang Kun were to be tempted and tamper with the dowry, it would be disastrous. Ling Mohan was already looking for any excuse to apprehend him, and any mishap with the dowry would cost Zhang Kun his life.
"Even if you gave me the courage of a dozen mice, I wouldn't dare to covet this dowry," Zhang Kun said, refusing verbally, but his heart had already drifted to the dowry. Anyway, with so many items, if he only took one or two from each box and replaced them with similar ones, they likely wouldn't notice. Man is motivated by self-interest; Heaven and Earth will destroy him if he isn't. Besides, Fan Shun wasn't reliable; he had to make arrangements for himself.
"It's best if you know that. Guard these dowries tonight. If anything happens, I'll hold you accountable!" Fan Shun handed the responsibility to Zhang Kun, too exhausted to bother with such trivial matters.
"My lord, please go and rest. With me here, nothing will go wrong." Zhang Kun eagerly took over the task, eager to inspect the treasures within and then execute his plan of substitution.
After sending Fan Shun away, Zhang Kun found an opportunity to dismiss everyone else, lifted the lid of a dowry chest, and gazed at the treasures inside. The chests were filled with gold and silver jewelry he had never seen before, dazzling him for a long time. Zhang Kun swallowed, amazed by the sheer quantity of treasures he was witnessing for the first time.
He cautiously picked up a gold ingot and took a bite. It was real... real gold. Once he confirmed this, he eagerly began stuffing them into his clothes. Taking just one or two pieces from each chest would be unnoticeable. In a short time, Zhang Kun had filled his pockets, then he hurriedly instructed his servants to take everything home and bury it in the backyard.
Little did they know, Zhang Kun's seemingly flawless plan had been fully observed by the heavily armored soldiers secretly watching Fan Shun. After Zhang Kun finished burying the chests, several men in black, clad in tight-fitting outfits, dug up the chests again and carried them away.
...
Ling Mohan's eyes narrowed as he looked at the gold and silver jewelry within the chests. A cold smile played on his lips. "Quite audacious. Knowing it's the Xiliang princess's dowry, yet daring to steal from it."
"Young General, that Zhang Kun thought taking a few items from each chest wouldn't be noticed. In reality, our men knew everything. He's truly clever, lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot." If Zhang Kun knew that the gold he so painstakingly stole would be taken away by others in the blink of an eye, he would probably regret it to the point of his guts turning green.
"Greed is a bottomless pit, a path to self-destruction." Ling Mohan stared at the gold in the chests, an idea forming in his mind.
"Young General, how should these items be handled?"
"Replace half of them with fakes. You'll take some men tonight and swap out a portion of the gold for fakes." He was just looking for a way to delay. This Zhang Kun had presented him with a perfect reason. He could even use this incident to assert pressure on Xiliang and return those palace maids and eunuchs...
"Yes, Young General." Lu Shi acted with extreme speed. He used a mesmerizing technique to knock out Zhang Kun and the few guards, then promptly executed the substitution, leaving without a trace.
The next morning, Zhang Kun awoke in a daze. He couldn't recall when he had fallen asleep and, after a long period of confusion, suddenly remembered what he had intended to do last night. He quickly got up to check the dowry chests. Seeing that each chest was intact, with no signs of forced locks, he breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Was everything alright last night?" Fan Shun's voice came from behind. Zhang Kun, already startled, was so frightened that a cold sweat broke out on his back.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Everything is fine. Your subordinate stayed up all night guarding this place, and there were absolutely no issues." Zhang Kun said obsequiously, rushing forward to support Fan Shun's somewhat plump body.
"It's good that nothing happened!" Fan Shun, still not completely at ease, personally inspected everything again.
"You worked hard last night too. Go back and rest early."
"Yes, my lord." Zhang Kun agreed with a smile. The moment he turned away, the smile vanished from his eyes, replaced by intense hatred. That fatso, did he really think he didn't know what he was scheming? Was he deliberately sending him away just before he was to meet the Xiliang envoy, worried that Zhang Kun would steal his thunder?
After leaving Fan Shun's residence, Zhang Kun couldn't stop muttering curses. Sooner or later, he would trample that fatso under his feet, make him act as his horse, and humiliate him thoroughly.
"My lord, bad news... bad news..."
"Shut up! Are you looking to bring me bad luck this early in the morning!" Zhang Kun, already fuming from his encounter with Fan Shun, kicked his servant several times, feeling a slight release of his pent-up anger.
"Go on, tell me what happened."
"My lord, the chests we buried yesterday were stolen." The servant said this while trembling and kneeling on the ground, afraid to speak.
"What!" Zhang Kun roared, "How were you watching them? Useless trash! They were stolen from your own courtyard!"
"My lord, I truly don't know. When I woke up this morning... I saw that the chests had already been dug up!" A surge of anger rushed to Zhang Kun's temples, making his eyes see stars. A whole chest of treasures, just gone!
"Go investigate... investigate... check every household, don't let anyone off!" The treasures he had worked so hard to obtain were his hope for the rest of his life; he had to get them back no matter what.
"Yes, my lord." The servant agreed and hurried out. When he reached the doorway, Zhang Kun called him back urgently.
"Stop! Don't go investigating!"
"My lord, this..." The servant looked at Zhang Kun, bewildered.