But when Yuan Zhen finally rose to fame and fortune, his wife fell ill and died. Yuan Zhen wrote: "All I can do is to hold vigil through the night, to make up for the scant joy you knew while alive."
等到元稹平步青雲時，妻子卻病故了，元稹於是寫下了「惟將終夜長開眼，報答平生未展眉。」