Transmigration; A Mother's Redemption and a perfect Wife.-Chapter 485 - 484; Honeymoon phase 4
Everything here was so different from the palace she’d grown up in, so far from the nightmare that had followed.
"You don’t have to be envious of me," Minghao said gently, catching that wistful expression. She set her books aside and turned to face Qing Qing fully. "I can tell the teacher that there are three of us in this debate, you, me, and Qin Xinyu."
Qing Qing’s breath hitched, her fingers instinctively twisting together, a nervous habit she’d developed since the trafficking. "But... I’ve never been to school before. Not like this." Her Mandarin came out slightly halting, the tones not quite perfect but atleast she could communicate. "In the palace, tutors came to us. Everything was... structured. Formal."
"That’s okay," Minghao reassured her. "The timing could actually work perfectly. In three to five days, you’ll have recovered enough to attend school on Friday. We can show you around, introduce you to everyone. Then the debate is on Saturday."
"Really?" Qing Qing’s eyes lit up with sudden enthusiasm, though shadows of uncertainty flickered beneath. Her voice trembled with hope mixed with fear, that old fear that still woke her at night sometimes. "You’d really let me join? What if... what if I say something wrong? My Mandarin is still...." She switched to English, which flowed more smoothly, "...not perfect. And I don’t know how normal students act."
"Your Mandarin is just fine, and getting better every day," Minghao said warmly, Minghao had grown up learning English so she was good in it. "And you’re brilliant, Qing Qing. I’ve heard you reading those advanced books on the shelves."
"Those are in Veltharian," Qing Qing murmured, using the name of her native royal tongue. The liquid, melodic syllables of her homeland rolled off her tongue naturally: "Sai’thora nel vaen ki’tharis..." She caught herself and translated haltingly, "It means... ’Knowledge is my only anchor now.’ Reading helps me... forget."
Forget the darkness. The cargo container, painful betrayals. The strange hands. The auction house whispers.
Minghao’s expression softened with understanding as she placed her arm around Qing Qing’s shoulders, drawing her close in a gesture of genuine warmth and sisterly affection. "You’re safe now. You’re home. And you’re going to do amazing at the debate."
"But what if people ask questions about me? About where I’ve been? Why do I speak strangely?" Qing Qing’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. "What if they see that I’m... different?"
"Listen to me." Minghao gently turned Qing Qing to face her. "I’ll ask Twilight to make sure you’re properly enrolled with all the right documentation. Since you’re recovering right now, the school records will show you’re out on medical leave. It’s not even a lie, you are healing." She gave Qing Qing’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "By the time you show up on Friday, you’ll just be another student returning from being ill. Tang Fei has made sure everything is legal and proper."
"Another student," Qing Qing repeated slowly, testing the words. Then, in Veltharian, she whispered: "Mere’las cin thoral..." A commoner among commoners. Once, that would have been unthinkable for a princess of the House of Seventh Stars. Now, it was everything she dreamed of.
"I’ve imagined this so many times," she continued in her careful Mandarin, then switched to English when the words came easier. "Just... being normal. Having a desk at school, raising my hand to answer questions, eating lunch in a cafeteria with other kids..." Her eyes glistened with tears.
"Well, I should warn you," Minghao said with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood, "the cafeteria food isn’t that great. And homework can be really annoying. Very different from royal tutors, I imagine."
"I don’t care." Qing Qing’s voice grew firm, determined, a flash of the princess she’d once been showing through. "I want all of it. Even the boring parts. Even the difficult parts." She paused, then added softly in Veltharian: "Nai’thera sol veith ki’mar."
"What does that mean?" Minghao asked curiously.
"’To live freely is worth any price.’" Qing Qing’s eyes met hers. "I was taught thirty-seven formal court protocols before I was four years old. I can recite the lineage of twelve royal houses. I speak four languages fluently, Veltharian, English, French, and some Mandarin. I can identify poisonous plants and calculate compound interest and paint traditional landscape art." Her voice cracked slightly. "But I’ve never had a friend my own age. Never chosen my own clothes. Never just... existed without someone watching, evaluating, or..."
She didn’t finish. Didn’t need to.
Minghao pulled her closer. "Then we’ll make it happen. I promise. You’ll get to be just Qing Qing. Not a princess. Not a victim. Just... you."
Qing Qing leaned into the embrace, feeling something warm unfurling in her chest, something that felt almost like hope. "Thank you," she whispered. Then, in her native tongue, the formal words of deep gratitude: "Vel’tharis maera cin, sister’kai." May the stars bless you, sister of my heart.
Even if Minghao couldn’t understand the words, perhaps she could feel their weight.
— — — — —
Two hours passed in focused silence.
His notebook was filled with data points, argument structures, potential rebuttals. He created separate documents for different aspects of their preparation:
Core Arguments (Primary)
Statistical Evidence (Supporting)
Emotional Appeals (Closing)
Anticipated Opposition Points (Defense)
Minghao’s Speaking Sections (Tailored to her strengths)
That last document was the most important. He needed to structure their presentation so that Minghao’s natural charisma and emotional intelligence shone through. Give her the human interest stories, the parts that required genuine connection with the audience. He would handle the dense data and technical rebuttals.
Together, they would be formidable.
A soft knock interrupted his concentration.
"Xinyu? I brought you some snacks, dear." His mother’s voice filtered through the door.
"Come in, Ma."
Everything here was so different from the palace she’d grown up in, so far from the nightmare that had followed.
"You don’t have to be envious of me," Minghao said gently, catching that wistful expression. She set her books aside and turned to face Qing Qing fully. "I can tell the teacher that there are three of us in this debate, you, me, and Qin Xinyu."
Qing Qing’s breath hitched, her fingers instinctively twisting together, a nervous habit she’d developed since the trafficking. "But... I’ve never been to school before. Not like this." Her Mandarin came out slightly halting, the tones not quite perfect but atleast she could communicate. "In the palace, tutors came to us. Everything was... structured. Formal."
"That’s okay," Minghao reassured her. "The timing could actually work perfectly. In three to five days, you’ll have recovered enough to attend school on Friday. We can show you around, introduce you to everyone. Then the debate is on Saturday."
"Really?" Qing Qing’s eyes lit up with sudden enthusiasm, though shadows of uncertainty flickered beneath. Her voice trembled with hope mixed with fear, that old fear that still woke her at night sometimes. "You’d really let me join? What if... what if I say something wrong? My Mandarin is still...." She switched to English, which flowed more smoothly, "...not perfect. And I don’t know how normal students act."
"Your Mandarin is just fine, and getting better every day," Minghao said warmly, Minghao had grown up learning English so she was good in it. "And you’re brilliant, Qing Qing. I’ve heard you reading those advanced books on the shelves."
"Those are in Veltharian," Qing Qing murmured, using the name of her native royal tongue. The liquid, melodic syllables of her homeland rolled off her tongue naturally: "Sai’thora nel vaen ki’tharis..." She caught herself and translated haltingly, "It means... ’Knowledge is my only anchor now.’ Reading helps me... forget."
Forget the darkness. The cargo container, painful betrayals. The strange hands. The auction house whispers.
Minghao’s expression softened with understanding as she placed her arm around Qing Qing’s shoulders, drawing her close in a gesture of genuine warmth and sisterly affection. "You’re safe now. You’re home. And you’re going to do amazing at the debate."
"But what if people ask questions about me? About where I’ve been? Why do I speak strangely?" Qing Qing’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. "What if they see that I’m... different?"
"Listen to me." Minghao gently turned Qing Qing to face her. "I’ll ask Twilight to make sure you’re properly enrolled with all the right documentation. Since you’re recovering right now, the school records will show you’re out on medical leave. It’s not even a lie, you are healing." She gave Qing Qing’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "By the time you show up on Friday, you’ll just be another student returning from being ill. Tang Fei has made sure everything is legal and proper."
"Another student," Qing Qing repeated slowly, testing the words. Then, in Veltharian, she whispered: "Mere’las cin thoral..." A commoner among commoners. Once, that would have been unthinkable for a princess of the House of Seventh Stars. Now, it was everything she dreamed of.
"I’ve imagined this so many times," she continued in her careful Mandarin, t
