Once upon a time, there were two notorious thieves who had stolen countless treasures and gained great fame throughout the country. However, both of them believed that they were the most skilled thief in the world and refused to acknowledge each other's abilities.
Therefore, they made a pact to compete in front of the entire nation. The competition would last for ten years, and whoever could steal the most difficult item within that time would be crowned the greatest thief in the world.
On the day of the competition, the whole nation gathered in the square to witness their promise. With the king's command, the two thieves set off in different directions to find the most challenging target to steal.
A year passed, and neither of the thieves returned. Two years went by, and there was still no sign of them. No one knew how many years had passed when the king married the most beautiful woman in China and crowned her as the queen. Besides her legendary beauty, the queen was also exceptionally skilled in governing the country, helping the king to rule with great efficiency. However, due to always wearing a veil, no one had ever been fortunate enough to see her face.
With the queen's assistance, the people's lives improved, and the country grew stronger day by day. In the days of peace and prosperity, people gradually forgot about the ten-year pact between the two thieves.
Time passed, and soon the ten-year deadline arrived. As the sun set, it seemed that the agreed-upon day was about to pass, and people thought that the two thieves would never return. Suddenly, the king revealed his true identity and laughed heartily, saying, "Hahaha! You never expected this, but I have stolen the entire country! Now I am the king of this land! There is surely nothing more difficult to steal than an entire nation. I am the king among thieves, and no one can steal better than me!"
People looked on in shock as the king, who had removed his disguise, turned out to be thief A from ten years ago. In their hearts, they thought, "Yes, the whole country belongs to him now. There is nothing more challenging to steal than that."
Thief A laughed triumphantly and shouted to the crowd, "Thief B! Come out! Kneel before me and admit your defeat!"
As the sun was cut in half by the horizon, just when everyone thought that thief B would not dare to appear, the queen slowly walked out of the palace. She removed her veil and calmly said to the king, "It is easy to steal a country, but stealing someone's heart is much more difficult."