She walked to the edge of the tree, which had grown quite a bit taller. From a tender sapling, it had grown upright, taking on an elegant and poised appearance. Perhaps in no time, it would continue to grow taller and stronger, and come summer, its branches and leaves would be lush, providing a canopy of green shade. In the spring of the following year, it would once again produce pure white blossoms. It would grow slowly within the Duke Residence, from when Jih Heng was alive, and long, long after.
Jiang Li reached out to touch the trunk, its branches heavy with accumulated snow, bending the little tree somewhat askew. As Jiang Li brushed away the snow, the tree seemed to be relieved and shot up higher. It was then, her hand felt something uneven below, as if someone had engraved it. She looked closely and immediately her eyes reddened, nearly spilling tears.
