Chapter 233: Stalemate

"Dig in, dig in! This fish-flavored shredded pork is delicious." Old Man Yao shouted while eating alone. The other elders only then realized that Old Man Yao was the most mischievous among them. They hurriedly grabbed various dishes to eat.

"You can all eat this." Zhu Yanyi saw the elders eating happily and served them one by one. "I made these with vegetarian ingredients, so they won't harm your bodies."

"Master Wisdom has found a successor." Old Man Zhang nodded with emotion as he ate. "But Ani, you must not learn his Buddhist teachings. We don't want a little nun as our disciple."

Zhu Yanyi laughed heartily. "Grandpa Zhang, whether I read Buddhist sutras or Daoist texts, it’s just because I want to read books. My senses are not pure at all, so don’t worry. I will absolutely never become a monk or nun."

"I was just reminding you." Old Man Zhang smiled upon hearing this.

Zhu Yanyi returned from the elders' place. Old Man Zhan had sent her back in her dedicated car. By the time she arrived at the courtyard house, everyone else had already returned. Yan Aohan had not come back; it seemed he had appeared yesterday only because he was the host.

"Sister Ani is back!" Zhu Zhibin saw Zhu Yanyi and ran toward her with a joyful shout.

"Bean Sprout, how was it? Did you have fun today?" Zhu Yanyi walked forward, took her hand, and led her into the house. Bean Sprout’s face lit up with happiness upon hearing Zhu Yanyi’s question. "It was fun! But Sister Ani, why didn’t you play with us?"

Zhu Yanyi explained with a smile. "Sister Ani had other things to do. My master is in Beijing, so I had to visit her first. It wasn’t right to bring little Bean Sprout along, so we had to separate."

"Oh, I see." Zhu Zhibin nodded, understanding. Perhaps because Zhu Zhibin naturally had high emotional intelligence, he didn’t fuss about going along after Zhu Yanyi explained.

Seeing Zhu Yanyi return, Zhu Shunyao and the others felt relieved. "Did everything go smoothly?"

"Quite smoothly. Today, Grandpa Chun and Grandma Li tested me. Tomorrow, I’m going to Grandpa Yao’s place. I don’t know how he will test me yet." Zhu Yanyi did not hide anything. Of course, she didn’t mention the books. In fact, the books she brought were merely symbolic—one or two volumes. The truly prepared books were in the Ruyi Space. To avoid exposing the space, she used the excuse of delivering them tomorrow.

Zhu Shunyao nodded. "You have been self-studying for five years. Your grandpas and grandmas naturally need to test you properly. If it’s inconvenient to return these days, you can stay there. Just remember to send word back."

Zhu Yanyi nodded, indicating she understood. "How was your trip? What sights did you visit today? Are you tired?"

"We didn’t visit many sights. We just saw the ruins of the Old Summer Palace and strolled through the Forbidden City. Tomorrow morning, Haifeng asked us to wake up a bit after three o’clock. He will pick us up at four to watch the flag-raising ceremony."

"Oh." Zhu Yanyi had seen flag-raising ceremonies in later times but hadn’t seen one in the present. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I’ll watch it with you tomorrow. After the ceremony, I’ll take the bus to Grandpa Yao’s place on my own."

"That works too. Then you should sleep early today." If it weren’t for waiting for Zhu Yanyi, everyone would have already gone to bed. After all, going to bed early and rising early was good for health.

The next morning, the Zhu and Cheng families woke up very early. Zhang Haifeng knocked on the door punctually at four o’clock and then led them to watch the flag-raising ceremony.