Mr. Steward looked at Henry Clark as if gazing upon a peerless treasure; in his eyes there was not only joy, but also a shimmer of tears.

Henry Clark withdrew his gaze. Although this scene had played out countless times before, he still found it novel.

Once again, in a hoarse voice, he asked Mr. Steward, “Who am I?”

This was Mr. Steward’s favorite question to answer. He immediately replied, “You are the fifth generation Mr. Steward! I am your yeye!”

For the two of them, this Q&A was really just a game, and both seemed to enjoy it endlessly.

It was only at this moment that Henry Clark finally understood why Mr. Steward treated him so well.

He needed a fifth generation Mr. Steward.

The house steward of the First Emperor was a eunuch, which was impossible before the First Emperor’s time. The house steward was a high-ranking royal official, with a salary of 1,500 shi, responsible for the king’s outings, food and clothing, sleeping quarters, and hunting, and also for correcting the king’s improper words and actions.

Ever since Lao Ai had an affair with the Empress Dowager of Qin and fathered two sons in a plot to rebel, which was crushed by the First Emperor, the Marquis of Changxin, Lao Ai, became an eternal pain in the First Emperor’s heart.

Faced with the illegitimate children born of his mother, the First Emperor flew into a rage, ordering the execution of every person in Yongcheng, and set fire to the strong city that Lao Ai had spent ten years building, burning it to the ground.

The death of an entire city could not quell the First Emperor’s fury. To prevent another fake eunuch like Lao Ai from ever appearing again, he personally ordered Zhao Gao that all men entering or leaving the inner palace must be castrated.

From then on, the Mr. Steward line could no longer rely on bloodline inheritance, so each generation of Mr. Steward would seek out an outstanding youth, call him son, and eventually pass on the position.

Without a doubt, Mr. Steward had set his sights on Henry Clark.

This scene was not unfamiliar to Henry Clark; back then, Mrs. Clark had picked him out from a group of orphans at a glance.

As long as one is talented and exceptional, one will shine wherever they are. Henry Clark was fully aware of his own excellence.

And Mr. Steward’s approach was quite ordinary. When eunuchs sought heirs, if they had no sons or nephews, they would choose another favored person to inherit everything.

It’s just that eunuchs usually chose other eunuchs, and Mr. Steward was a eunuch, while Henry Clark was very unwilling to become one.

What’s more, Mr. Steward didn’t have much worth inheriting; when the cost outweighs the gain, even a fool knows what choice to make.

Henry Clark didn’t understand how Mr. Steward could see that he was an outstanding youth from a pile of charcoal. Every time he asked, Mr. Steward would just smile and not answer, and Henry Clark always felt he seemed quite pleased with himself.

Life in the mountains was carefree and thoughtless. Soon, autumn was about to vanish. A northern wind blew, and the broadleaf forest on the mountainside quickly thinned out. Yellow leaves filled the sky, almost blocking out the sun, leaving only dry branches standing there like warriors holding spears.

With his hands and feet restored, his body greatly relieved, Henry Clark was now fearless. Even if he were to die, it would be after putting up a full resistance.

For two days in a row, Henry Clark endured violent coughing fits. After each bout, large clumps of bluish-gray mucus would gush from his throat, eventually turning from grayish-clear to pale white.

The divine physician Mr. Steward believed this was a detoxification process, a good sign that Henry Clark was about to recover.

Since Henry Clark could now speak, Mr. Steward spent less time going out each day and more time with Henry Clark. He even made a sand tray for Henry Clark, teaching him to recognize characters hand-in-hand.

“There are eight styles of Qin script. Though not every scholar must master them all, one must at least know of them.

The eight styles of Qin script: first, Great Seal Script; second, Small Seal Script; third, Engraved Tally Script; fourth, Worm Script; fifth, Imitation Seal Script; sixth, Official Script; seventh, Weapon Script; eighth, Clerical Script.

Great Seal Script was created by Yi Bo, who observed all things in the world, measured the mysteries of the land, and took inspiration from the forms of birds, fish, and insects. It is ancient, elegant, and most beautiful, but the characters are complex and inconvenient to carve on bamboo slips.

In the first year of our emperor’s reign, an edict was issued: ‘unify the width of carriages, unify the script.’ Prime Minister Li Si gathered three hundred talented people and, after three years, produced the Small Seal Script. His talent was evident, but unfortunately, he was treacherous. Small Seal Script was used throughout the land, benefiting Great Qin, but Li Si died without a burial place—he brought it upon himself.

Engraved Tally Script is an ancient script, meant only to convey meaning, not beauty. The strokes are like iron hooks and silver lines, used by craftsmen on bronze vessels. I only ask that you can recognize it; you need not study it deliberately.

Worm Script was used in the southern states of Wu, Yue, Chu, Cai, Xu, Song, etc. After the king unified the world, this script declined, and with the ‘unification of script’ throughout the land, it gradually became unknown.

Official Script and Weapon Script are much the same—one is written on palaces and pavilions, the other engraved on weapons.

Only Clerical Script—I deeply detest it, yet you must learn it. People tend to avoid difficulty and seek ease, and Clerical Script is just that.

Cheng Miao, a slave of Yunyang, was originally a prison officer. He offended the First Emperor and was imprisoned in Yunyang, where he pondered for ten years, modifying the round and square brushwork of Great and Small Seal Scripts, and created three thousand characters of Clerical Script.

The First Emperor praised it, pardoned his crime, and made him an imperial historian. Because it was convenient for clerks in government and prisons, it was called ‘Clerical Script.’

This script greatly diminished the beauty of Seal Script. Aside from convenience, it has no merit at all... Alas, you must still learn it.”

While Mr. Steward was speaking, Henry Clark had already used a tree branch, with a very proper grip, to write the characters Henry Clark in Great Seal, Small Seal, and Clerical Script in the sand tray.