The magistrate of Xinghua County, Mr.

Liu of Shaanxi, was visited one day by a Taoist priest who presented him with a potted orange tree, slender as a finger.

Mr.

Liu, disdaining the sapling's small size, was reluctant to accept it.

Mr.

Liu had a young daughter, barely six or seven years old, whose birthday happened to be that very day.

The priest remarked, "Since Your Excellency dislikes this small orange tree, why not present it to your esteemed daughter as a birthday gift?" Miss Liu was overjoyed upon seeing the orange tree and attended to it day and night with meticulous care.

Later, as Mr.

Liu's term neared its end, the orange tree had grown considerably, its trunk now as thick as a fist, and it bore fruit for the first time.

When Mr.

Liu retired and returned home, he left the tree behind at the government office, intending not to take it with him.

Seeing this, Miss Liu wept inconsolably.

Mr.

Liu comforted her, saying, "It is only a temporary departure; we shall return later." Being young, Miss Liu accepted his words without suspicion and stopped crying then and there.

To guard against the tree being stolen, Miss Liu specifically instructed her servants to smash the flowerpot and transplant the orange tree into the courtyard.

Several years passed, and Miss Liu grew into a young woman and married a man named Zhuang.

During the Bingxu year, Mr.

Zhuang passed the Imperial Examinations and was appointed to serve in Xinghua County.

Miss Liu accompanied him, thinking to herself, "It has been over ten years since I last visited Xinghua; I wonder if the orange tree is still there?" Upon arriving in Xinghua County, they went to inspect the government office.

The orange tree was flourishing, now thick enough for ten men to encircle it with their arms.

It was laden with thousands of fruit.

Inquiring with the yamen runners, they all said, "Ever since Magistrate Liu departed, the tree has grown wildly day by day, but it never bore fruit until now, this is the first time." Miss Liu gasped in wonder at this.

Mr.

Zhuang served for three years, and the orange tree yielded fruit every year.

In the fourth year, however, the tree suddenly withered dreadfully, losing all its former splendor.

Miss Liu sighed, "It seems my husband's official career is dim; this post as county magistrate will not last long." That autumn, Mr.

Zhuang was indeed stripped of his official position.