"Blind fool! Can't you see these are all items from Xiliang, the dowry of the Xiliang Princess!"
Fan Shun said speechlessly, not noticing the obvious markings on the boxes indicating they were from Xiliang.
"The Xiliang Princess's dowry!" Zhang Kun's tone was slightly surprised. After a closer look, he exclaimed, "As expected of a royal princess, her dowry is truly generous."
Each item in these boxes 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 nations concerns state affairs. Even the slightest mistake could ignite a war between the two countries, and then a hundred heads wouldn't be enough for us to lose."
Fan Shun knew that Zhang Kun had always been greedy for money. Ever since he entered, his eyes had been fixed on the dowry boxes, unwilling to move them.
If he were to give in to greed and touch the dowry, it would be disastrous.
Ling Mohan was already looking for a way to get him, and if anything happened to this dowry, his life would be forfeit.
"Even if you lent me a hundred times my courage, I wouldn't dare to lay a hand on this dowry."
Although Zhang Kun refused verbally, his mind was already soaring towards the dowry.
Since there were so many things, if he took just one or two items from each, and then made a few similar ones to replace them, no one would notice.
Self-preservation is paramount. Fan Shun was not reliable, so he had to make plans for himself.
"It's best if you know that. Tonight, you will guard this dowry. If anything happens, I will hold you responsible!"
Fan Shun handed over the responsibility to Zhang Kun, too exhausted to bother with these useless matters.
"My lord, you can rest assured and go to sleep. With me here, nothing will happen."
Zhang Kun eagerly took over the task, wanting to examine the treasures inside and then execute his plan of substitution.
After seeing Fan Shun off, Zhang Kun found an opportunity to dismiss everyone else, opened the dowry boxes, and looked at the treasures within.
The boxes were filled with gold and jewels he had never seen before. For a moment, he was blinded by their brilliance. Zhang Kun stared blankly for a long time, swallowed, and realized he had never seen so many treasures.
He carefully picked up a gold ingot and took a bite. It was real gold.
Once he confirmed his thought, he began stuffing them into his clothes. Taking one or two pieces from each box wouldn't be obvious.
In a short time, Zhang Kun had filled his clothes with treasures. He busied himself by instructing his household servants to take the items home and bury them in the backyard.
Little did they know that Zhang Kun's seemingly flawless plan had been fully observed by the black-armored soldiers secretly watching Fan Shun.
After Zhang Kun buried the boxes, several men in black, tightly clad, dug them up and took them away.
...
Ling Mohan squinted at the gold and jewels in the boxes, a cold smile curling his lips. "Indeed, you have quite the nerve, knowing it's the Xiliang Princess's dowry, yet daring to steal from it."
"Young General, that Zhang Kun thought he could get away with taking a little from each box without anyone noticing. In reality, our men knew everything. He's only made a fool of himself, lifting a rock to smash his own feet."
If Zhang Kun knew that the gold he worked so hard to steal had been taken away by others in the blink of an eye, he would probably regret it deeply.
"Greed knows no bounds; he's digging his own grave."
Ling Mohan stared at the gold in the boxes, a plan forming in his mind.
"Young General, how should these items be handled?"
"Replace half of them with fakes. You will take some men tonight and replace some of the gold with fakes."
He was already looking for a way to delay things, and Zhang Kun had just provided him with a reason. This incident could also be used to make demands on Xiliang and return those palace maids, eunuchs, and so on.
"Yes, Young General."
Lu Shi moved with extreme speed. After incapacitating Zhang Kun and the others guarding the place with an illusion, he immediately performed the substitution and left without a trace.
The next morning, Zhang Kun finally woke up groggily. He couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep and, after a long period of confusion, suddenly recalled what he was supposed to do last night. He quickly got up to check the dowry boxes.
Seeing that each box was intact and that the locks showed no signs of tampering, he finally let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Did anything happen last night?" Fan Shun's voice rang out from behind him. Zhang Kun, already shaken, was startled and broke out in another cold sweat.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Everything is fine. Your subordinate stayed up all night, and there were absolutely no mistakes."
Zhang Kun said obsequiously, stepping forward to help Fan Shun's somewhat plump body.
"It's good that nothing happened!" Fan Shun, still not entirely reassured, inspected everything himself.
"You've worked hard tonight too. Go back and get some rest early."
"Yes, my lord." Zhang Kun replied with a smile. The moment he turned away, the smile vanished from his eyes, replaced by a look of intense hatred.
That fatso, did he really think he didn't know what he was scheming? Wasn't he deliberately finding an excuse to dismiss him so that he wouldn't steal the spotlight from the fatso when meeting the Xiliang envoys later?
After leaving Fan Fu, Zhang Kun's grumbling did not cease. Sooner or later, he vowed, he would trample that fatso under his feet and make him ride him like a horse, to humiliate him thoroughly.
"My lord, bad news... bad news..."
"Shut up! You're bringing bad luck this early in the morning. Are you hoping I won't have a good day!"
Zhang Kun, already seething with anger from his encounter with Fan Shun, kicked the servant several times. Only then did he feel a little better.
"Speak, what happened?"
"My lord, the boxes we buried yesterday have been stolen." The servant said, trembling and kneeling on the ground, afraid to speak.
"What!" Zhang Kun shouted angrily, "How were you guarding them? Useless wretches, to have them stolen even from your own courtyard!"
"My lord, I truly don't know. When I woke up this morning... I looked, and the boxes had already been dug up!"
A surge of anger rushed to Zhang Kun's temples, making his vision swim.
A whole chest of treasures, just gone.
"Go investigate... go investigate... search house by house, not a single one can be spared!"
The treasures he had painstakingly obtained were his hope for the rest of his life. He had to find them, no matter what.
"Yes, my lord." The servant agreed and hurried out. As he reached the doorway, Zhang Kun called him back urgently.
"Stop! Do not go and investigate!"
"My lord, this..." The servant looked at Zhang Kun, puzzled.