Chapter 5 - Chen Ping Ting

[Chapter 5 - Chen Ping Ting]

"Then who am I?"

In response to her question, the room entered, stifling silence. Her gaze wandered to Mei Yi, who was on the verge of tears. A frown formed on her face. Was she that important to the young maid?

Lord Chen sighed. "You are my daughter. Chen Ping Ting," he said, pain flashing through his eyes despite his calm demeanor.

Ping Ting swung her head up and down, focusing on what he said. The original owner of the body and she shared the same name.

"You turned 17 the last month," he began.

They couldn't figure out she was four years younger. She would not let the surprise slip into her eyes.

"It is the kingdom of Wei. I am the Prime Minister, and you are my only daughter. Ping bo is your older brother and Mei is your maid- two years older than you. She has served you since she was seven," he stated and started to explain other details.

According to all she understood, she was a seventeen-year-old spoiled girl.

Located in the nation of Wei, one of the four nations of this realm, her father is the Prime minister, and her brother is a literary scholar. He is so affluent in the younger circle that even the princes try to rope him into their sides.

A chronic illness caused their mother's death two years after Ping Ting was born. From what Lord Chen had described, their mother was a beauty to behold. Enticing the influential minister who could not let go of her even after death. He remained only faithful to her.

Mei Yi had stayed with her since she was seven. They had become more like sisters rather than masters and servants. Though she maintained proper behavior, never once crossing the imaginary line.

Because of the lavish spoiling of her brother and continuous doting of her father, 'Ping Ting' of this world had a loud and bubbly personality. She feared no one. She never caused problems on her own, but she had a haughty disposition that led her to become vindictive when someone taunted her.

Her reckless behavior earned her the title of 'spoiled brat of the nation.'

Ping Ting had admired the Third Prince Wei Jin Ling since their childhood. On her birthday, she mustered up the courage to ask him out. But he downright rejected her, shattering her heart like a glass thrown from the tenth floor. It made her cry for days and nights.

Sobbing and complaining to her father, she begged him to get her married to the prince, but he refused. She didn't speak to her father for days after that.

Ping Ting was uncertain of the circumstance that pushed to the death of the real Ping Ting and wondered whether the girl had cried herself to death, forcing her to enter her body to transfer.

Ping Ting gasped in astonishment as she saw a green light seep from her brother's hand. "The world has seen levels of qi cultivation that can provide you with unfathomable power," her father revealed when his hand shimmered in a faint bluish-green tint, catching her attention.

Even Mei Yi had a faint red hue around her fingers.

Qi cultivation is a power that gives tremendous strength to the cultivators. In a world that supported the strong and suppressed the weak, qi was a necessity. It enabled them to rise to the top of the food chain. Human beings are greedy by nature, and they would do anything to reach the top.

People lacking the ability to cultivate were waste- lower than a beggar. People treated them like scum and trampled on them without being able to defend themselves.

Knowing she was born as the same waste, her jaw clenched.

It's not fair to me if you are transmigrating me. At least I should have been born into a strong woman's body- who has powerful qi and genius talents. She grumbled to herself.

Consequently, Ping Ting found herself helpless. They wouldn't even consider her to be smart. She was a normal girl who had a typical family with average grades. She could not drastically alter the waste body.

Her face was further contorted- by the fact the Prime Minister spent many sources trying to open her meridians so that she could cultivate them.

Many priests, cultivators, and even demon worshippers got offered thousands of gold taels to do anything to make his girl cultivate. But all the trials proved futile after four rigorous years. At one point, they gave up hope.

There was no way she could cultivate.

Her first clenched. Unknown to her, a fire burned in her heart.

Ping Ting possessed no natural ability. She was the lowest in the food chain. She couldn't even protect herself from a puppy, much less these crazy strong cultivators. They would crush her like an annoying pest.

Without them, she would die in a day. Especially by those who she offended throughout the years.

This only exacerbated the overprotective nature of her brother and father, who mollycoddled her even more. Their little girl was weak without them. All she had to cry in front of them for those who bullied her for no talent- people would suffer.

There was no doubt that Prime Minister Chen was a powerful individual- to the point of intimidating even the king.

Despite having a deer-like appearance, the brother would become a beast protecting his cub. The person would get ostracized by the young generation thanks to the poison tongue he had.

Ping Ting rubbed her forehead. She had no memories of the previous owner.

She could not tell if those were lies, half-truths, or truths. For now, however, she would try to believe them. Well, put it this way, she would pretend to trust them at the very least.

There was a weight on her heart, and she did not know how to lift it. They looked at her with the gaze of years of memories, but she had none. Would they abandon her? If she told them she wasn't their Ping Ting?

She wanted to survive- no fuck; she needed to survive. And in this kingdom, no one could offer her protection other than Lord Chen and his son. Not to mention she didn't have qi running through her veins, which meant even a commoner could step on her, and she could do nothing.

It was a whole different story if she had the support of the Chen family.

"Father," the young girl suddenly hugged her father and buried her face in his muscular chest while she called in a childish voice. Turning her eyes red and jutting her lips. Her expression was pure innocence.

Although her eyes flashed with guilt, she did not want to manipulate their emotions, but she needed to survive. She must make them believe she is their daughter and not a stranger. They will never find out the truth.

In a rare instance, when she clung to him like a little girl, Lord Chen's heart tugged whilst he fondly patted her head. A smile spread across his face as wrinkles formed around his eyes, marking permanent traces of happiness on his face.

Ping Bo smiled and looked at the affectionate duo. For a second, it looked like they were in the past.

"Ping Ting, trust us. We are not the bad guys. It's hard for you to trust us without memories of the past. But we've got years to make up for what happened. We're here to protect you, xiao mei. Put your faith in us, and we won't let you down," Ping Bo stared at her.

He voiced his words sternly. He could detect the uncertainty that lurked deep within his sister's eyes. Her hazel eyes stared at him, guarded against him as if he were some stranger.

In spite of the attempts to hide her genuine emotions, Ping Ting was still a naive girl. To these veterans who had to deal with cunning men day in and day out, she was like an open book.

How could they not know she was acting; he twitched his lips in a fake smile.

He would prove to her they are family and that she could lean on them like she used to.

---

Please send gifts to Ping Ting so that she can grow strong~

Note:

In English, qi (also known as chi) is usually translated as "vital life force," but qi goes beyond that simple translation. According to Classical Chinese Philosophy, qi is the force that makes up and binds all things in the universe.