Pearls and jade scatter as she weeps in secret;
All day long her heart is listless, all day long at leisure.
On the pillow, on the sleeve—impossible to wipe away;
Let them be, those drops and stains.
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
The second verse further depicts Daiyu's constant weeping. 'Pearls and jade scatter' describes tears rolling down. 'Let the drops and stains be' alludes to the legend of the two consorts Ehuang and Nüying whose tears stained the bamboo, linking to Daiyu's sobriquet 'Fairy of the Naiad's House' (Xiaoxiang).
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