"I stared. If Mrs. Li couldn't find a suitable bride, I was going to have to marry FuDing?"

Which part of the plot is this excerpt from?

"Please!" I was shocked to hear my own voice. "Don't send me back."

Which part of the plot is this excerpt from?

"Tianyi tore open the package, broke off some leaves in her hands, and smelled the tea. She looked at me carefully, her eyes piercing. 'Come with me,' she ordered.

Which part of the plot is this excerpt from?

"Now, as I write this on a pirate ship whose red sails paint the sky, I ride the vast ocean. The wind is wild, and the waves are endless, and the shore is so distant it is hard to imagine that it even exists."

Which part of the plot is this excerpt from?

"Mencius, the Second Sage, said that there are three joys in the world," he said. "Health, a clear conscience, and teaching those who are worthy. Teaching you has been a joy, Lingsi."

Which word best describes Lingsi, according to Teacher?

"Going to that ocean temple carrying chests of jade and strings of cash! We'll be prime targets for robbers. I wouldn't be surprised if pirates docked their boats just to raid us."

The excerpt contains an example of...

"I had no memory of my mother, but hearing how she had dared to make demands of the formidable Mrs. Li on my behalf always made me feel a sense of pride."

Which word best describes Mrs. Li?

"When it was discovered that it was my sixth birthday, Mrs. Li remembered her promise to my mother, then paled and swayed like a blanched stalk of bamboo."

How can readers infer Mrs. Li feels in this passage?

"And Haobo and Mugang and all the men have to prepare the sedan chairs and get ready to carry fat FuDing for hours tomorrow, and they aren't crying, either. So your sniveling is not welcome!"

What is Shuwan accusing Lingsi of in this passage?

"It's sheer craziness!" Shuwan grumbled as we paraded past the gawking neighbors, most of them awed by the grandness of our procession.

What are the neighbors doing?

"But the sea was what mesmerized me. It whispered with a quiet thunder, and when I saw the 'waves made of dragon scales,' just like in one of Li Po's poems, I gasped."

Which literary device does this excerpt contain?

"The ocean," I murmured. I had been outside the walled estate of the House of Li only a handful of times. However, one time Shuwan, the head cook, and I had been sent to town to buy pepper, and I had caught a glimpse of the sea.

What does the ocean symbolize?

"If I were a pirate," I said, "I'd raid that temple myself."

"Shut up about pirates already!" Shuwan snapped.

I grinned and our procession began along the path toward the temple.

Which word best characterizes Lingsi here?

"But my head is raised and I can't help but smile. For while the path before me might be difficult, it will be my own."

Which word best characterizes Lingsi here?