I took this road earlier to go and serve the throne,
Just when the western outskirts were rife with Tartars.
Even today my nerves are still frayed ‒
My spirits must still be a bit scattered.
I came back to the capital as a close servant of the court’s;
My transfer now cannot be His Majesty’s doing.
A man without talent, I grow older and feebler by the day;
I rein in my horse and gaze back at the palace.