After a long while, Henry Clark finally heard a cry that seemed to come from deep within the throat. The sobs were intermittent and not loud, yet carried a heart-wrenching pain. Even she, who had sworn never to shed tears again in this lifetime, felt her eyes redden and instinctively tightened her embrace around that frail body. Only when the crying gradually turned into quiet sobs did she loosen her grip and gently wipe the girl's face with a handkerchief.

"It's all right now, everything's all right. From now on, I'll be here with you..."

"Big sister 晗, I'm scared, I'm really scared... I don't want to be the eldest daughter, I don't want to go to some marquis's manor. But after they locked me up that day, Mrs. Smith said that Father keeps a mistress outside and has other daughters. If I don't behave, she'll marry me off far away to the foolish son of a rich family in Yongcheng, and I'll be left to cry for help with no one to answer for the rest of my life..." Remembering how her mouth had been gagged and the suffering she endured, Emily Bolton shuddered violently, then finally spoke in a trembling voice, "She also said she'd starve me for two days to teach me a lesson, and if I still didn't know what's good for me, there'd be even more suffering in store..."

The more Henry Clark listened, the angrier she became, until by the end she was grinding her teeth in hatred. She knew well that Mrs. Smith did all this simply to make Emily Bolton fear her, deeply fear her, so that Emily Bolton would obey her every word, making it easier to control this illegitimate daughter who had become the legitimate one. Emily Bolton was timid and weak by nature; without her own desperate resolve, she might really have fallen victim to Mrs. Smith's schemes. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but gently stroke Emily Bolton's face, then said sternly, "Don't be afraid of her. Look, the fact that I can be here means she can't control everything! But if we want to survive, we have to keep up this act—there's no other choice!"

"Big sister 晗..."

Henry Clark took hold of Emily Bolton's thin hand and said, word by word, "We were both there that night. If we don't keep acting, there's only one road left—death. Sister, if you want to live, you have to treat yourself as the eldest daughter of the Zhang family! We're all in the same boat. As long as we're willing to risk everything, unless Mrs. Smith wants to go down with us, she won't dare really do anything to us. You have to understand, if it were me, I would never take a servant like her seriously! Just treat her as a paper tiger who only knows how to put on airs, and you won't be afraid of her anymore!"

Seeing that Emily Bolton seemed to understand, she finally raised her hand and pressed it on her shoulder. "Remember, from now on, you are the elder sister, and I am the younger! I've already taught you all the characters in the 'Three Character Classic' and the 'Thousand Character Classic', and you can write them all. From now on, I'll teach you more books, more words, and more things. If you want to break free from your father and Mrs. Smith's control in the future, we must work together!"

"Sister..."

Seeing Henry Clark staring at her sternly, Emily Bolton suddenly raised her hand and wiped her eyes hard, then nodded vigorously. "Sister, let me call you sister one last time... I understand now, I'll do whatever you say!"

Chapter Eight: Visiting

Madam Gu passed away on July 12th. The family members sent by the Marquis of Weining and the Marquis of Wuning only arrived at Guide Prefecture on July 24th.

It wasn't really their fault for traveling slowly. They spent a night in Xuzhou, and when they set out again, it happened to be the season when the Yellow River often flooded in summer. The floodwaters destroyed the road, so they had to detour through Suzhou before reaching Guide Prefecture, which delayed them by a full seven days. Normally, seven days wouldn't matter much, but for the Zhang family, who had just suffered a great upheaval, these seven days were crucial. Henry Clark had basically taught the two maids how to behave properly, and under Henry Clark's guidance, Emily Bolton practiced etiquette and writing diligently every day.

This was all thanks to Olivia Bolton's previously rebellious nature—she never wrote letters to the elders of the two marquis households. Otherwise, having to imitate her handwriting before arriving at the marquis's residence would have been an impossible task.

Since that day when she suffered a setback, and after Charles Bolton was persuaded by Henry Clark to let Emily Bolton live together with her sister, Mrs. Smith hadn't shown up in front of the two sisters for several days. On the day the people from the two marquis households arrived, however, she personally accompanied them to the other residence. The visitors included two senior maids, four servant women, plus coachmen and attendants—altogether more than a dozen people and three carriages. Yet, when she led the two senior maids into Emily Bolton's room, she found that the person was not in the main chamber. Furious, her heart skipped a beat. She called her niece Yingcao over and demanded harshly, "Where is the eldest young lady?"

"The eldest young lady isn't feeling well and is resting in her room."

Yingcao had always been most afraid of Mrs. Smith. After answering, she was so frightened by a glare that she shivered. At this moment, it was Fangcao at the side who explained, "The eldest young lady didn't sleep well last night. She barely ate a few bites of breakfast. Miss 晗 accompanied her for a walk, and then the eldest young lady suddenly felt sleepy, so she went back to her room to rest. Right now, Miss 晗 is keeping her company!"

"It's not your place to speak about the eldest young lady's affairs!"

Mrs. Smith was even less polite to Fangcao, and was about to scold her again when the senior maid beside her, dressed in a blue vest, gently coughed. She then spoke kindly, "The young lady has been frail since childhood, and now that she's lost her mother, it's no wonder she's feeling low. Since that's the case, let's not disturb her. We'll just go in and take a look. As for paying respects, we can wait until the young lady wakes up."