The bright moon hides, veiled by clouds
A few wisps of incense smoke rise
The pipa strings are plucked in vain
The red blossoms of the past have all fallen, snow-white geese return
A solitary lamp keeps me company
The fine dishes have lost their flavor, alone I drink my tears
I remember those days
A face of peerless beauty, making every flower blush
Dancing with you, pledging love as high as the mountains and deep as the sea
But look at us now
My beauty has not faded, yet the bridal curtains hang empty
The mandarin ducks play alone, the intertwined branches are broken
Our vows have gone, never to return
Wherever there is a harem, there is no shortage of strife.
Wherever there are men and women, there is no shortage of love and resentment.
The harem is a battlefield without gunfire, a cage that binds women for their entire lives.
The women there scheme and struggle for favor and love,
only to end up as nothing more than one man's playthings.
Once you enter the palace gates, the depths are like the sea.
She, too, was one of those secluded women.
She transmigrated there, then transmigrated back.
She thought she might have a new life,
but when the dream ended, she still couldn't escape the fate laid out for her.
Blessing or disaster?
