千金买骨 — “To buy bones with a thousand pieces of gold”

Once upon a time, there was a king who was fond of horses and wished to acquire a "thousand-li horse" (a legendary steed capable of traveling a thousand li in a day). He offered a thousand pieces of gold as a reward, but after three years, he still hadn't found one.

A young attendant volunteered to undertake this crucial mission. In less than three months, he located a thousand-li horse, but by the time he was ready to purchase it, the horse had unfortunately died. Despite this, the attendant still bought its bones for five hundred pieces of gold and brought them back.

The king was puzzled and displeased, asking why he had spent so much money on dead bones. The attendant explained, "If people see that even the bones of a thousand-li horse are valued and bought at such a high price, they will believe that Your Majesty truly cherishes such steeds, whether alive or dead. This will surely encourage others to bring live thousand-li horses to you."

Indeed, not long after, several live thousand-li horses were brought to the king.