Yuan Zhao held the jade chopsticks in his hand, lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.
“Do you have anyone you trust?”
She turned her head to look at Dota, who was sitting beside her in a somewhat lazy manner.
The candlelight shone on his face, and his white clothes made his usually cold face seem both warm and cold.
He chuckled and didn't answer.
Yuan Zhao suddenly realized that Duota didn't just distrust Helian Chang.
He doesn't believe anyone.
"In Achao's heart, am I a very ruthless person?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, looking indifferent, but his eyes were fixed on Yuan Zhao's face.
Yuan Zhao lowered his eyelashes and said, "Your Majesty, it is always lonely at the top."
He is the king of Northern Qiang. It is too much of a joke to believe it or not.
Yuan Zhao was born into the royal family and understood this even more clearly.
Just like her father, he never trusted anyone, whether it was the queen mother, concubines, children, or ministers.
Because of distrust, while giving Queen Shen honor and favor, the rest of the Shen family was forced to retire and return to their hometowns to stay away from court affairs.
Because of distrust, the princes were allowed to fight and suppress each other.
Because of distrust, they were worried that the Huo family army would become too powerful and threaten the leader after winning consecutive victories.
Because of distrust, he would not betroth her, the eldest prince's biological sister, to the prosperous Huo family.
…
Is it ruthless? Yes, it is, but there is nothing we can do about it.
Sitting in that position, every decision has to be carefully considered.
Thinking of these things in her mind, she couldn't help but put down her chopsticks.
"I've trusted others before, but it didn't end well," she said lightly.
Dota still looked at her in the same way, and did not ask who she trusted, because he knew who it was.
The candlelight in the room flickered, and his voice, as cold as jade, slowly rang out.
"When I lived in the palace, I once asked my eldest brother, the king who was famous for his kindness, to give me a cotton coat in winter..." He stared at Yuan Zhao's profile and spoke softly.
He suddenly began to talk about the past, and Yuan Zhao couldn't help but look up at him.
"He gave me a cotton-padded jacket, the kind the lowest-ranking servants wear in winter..." He laughed, his eyes dark and unclear. "Those servants respectfully call me 'Fourth Prince,' but in reality, I don't even have as much winter clothing as they do."
Even in June, the nights in Northern Qiang are still chilly, so Yuan Zhao needs to wear a cloak if he goes out.
Needless to say, it is very cold in the cold winter.
"My eldest brother, the king, gave me cotton clothes, and then he asked a few princes with evil tastes to dig open the frozen well in the palace..." As he said this, his eyes were cold.
Yuan Zhao's heart trembled a little, as if he had already anticipated what would happen next.
"They threw me into the well, along with my cotton coat, and only let me out when my clothes and I were frozen to the bone."
Yuan Zhao listened and couldn't help but feel a chill all over his body.
She picked up the wine glass on the table, which contained warm wine, and took a sip.
Dota continued with a faint smile on his lips, "As for my father, he has never looked at me since I was born. If it weren't for the situation at that time, he would not have even remembered that he had a son like me."
"But the time he remembered me was when he exiled me..."
He said he was his father, but his father didn't care about him, and he actually never cared about his father either.
But for some people, even though they only have a little blood relationship, he can still use it without hesitation.
"The roads in the Tianshan Mountains are covered in ice and snow... The person who followed me all the way to the city on the border between Beiqiang and Dacheng used the excuse of buying me some hot buns... and took away all the money I had on me, as well as the only worthless jade pendant left to me by my late mother."
Dota himself didn't know which was harder to endure, the palace or the road to exile.
But along the way, he lost almost everything he had, except his life.
But then I thought about it, he actually never got anything.
No one expected him, no one cared about him, no one loved him, and no one even hated him.
He is dispensable in this world, and no one will notice if he dies somewhere one day.
Before she knew it, Yuan Zhao had already finished a glass of wine and poured herself another. She stared at the ripples in the wine in the glass.
"What happened next?" she couldn't help but ask.
Dota also poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all.
"I walked for a long time alone, without any direction. When I was hungry in the mountains, I ate wild fruits and dug wild vegetables. When I entered the city, I went to rummage through garbage..."
"I've been attacked by wild beasts, chased by people with clubs... For a while, I almost forgot who I was, where I came from, and where I was going..."
If it were just like this, he might die numb and powerless.
But he held the cup in his hand, and instantly exerted force, his veins showing.
"An uncle took pity on me and took me home. He let me take a shower, change clothes, and eat. I thought I had met a kind person..." His tone became softer, and he lowered his head, not looking at Yuan Zhao again. "That night, I finally slept soundly..."
"In the middle of the night, my underwear was stripped off."
As Yuan Zhao listened, he felt that the wine he drank was a little too much and his vision began to blur.
She had already drunk several glasses of wine.
But Dota stood up from his chair, squatted in front of her, stretched out his bony hands and held her hands.
His hands were icy cold.
Yuan Zhao did not struggle. She had drunk some wine and her hands were warm.
After squatting, his head was a few inches shorter than hers. He played with her hand and said in his usual cold tone, "That was my first time killing someone. Not only did I kill him, I also chopped off his penis."
After saying that, he raised his head and looked at Yuan Zhao, and asked her again, "A Zhao, am I scary?"
Yuan Zhao lowered his head and looked at him without saying a word, but a drop of moisture fell on his face.
Under the candlelight, Duota raised his head, and from his angle he could clearly see Yuan Zhao's expression.
He smiled, and it was a very beautiful smile, even in his eyes.
"A Chao, you shouldn't be like this..." He couldn't help but sigh, seeming helpless and sad.
She should hate him, despise him, and curse him, instead of feeling pity for him like she did now.
Yuan Zhao closed his eyes slightly, and another tear fell down his long eyelashes.
"What happened next..." she just asked.
Dota didn't answer, but just kept looking up at her.
The figures of the two people were reflected in the window, one sitting and the other kneeling, one lowering his head and the other looking up, as if someone was praying devoutly to whom.
He reached out his hand, stroked Yuan Zhao's face, and whispered, "A Chao...you are drunk..."
After an unknown amount of time, the candlelight in the room went out, and Qingzhi brought people into the room quietly and cleared the food off the table.
She couldn't help but look into the inner room.
The king never stayed overnight before, and now he has carried the princess in. He shouldn’t come out tonight?
…
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