菱角菱花皆盛于秋，岂不比 ‘香’字有来历些。”
The caltrop flourishes and flowers in autumn, so that is surely more appropriate.”
自此后遂改了"秋"字，宝钗亦不在意。
Thereafter her name was changed to Qiuling, and Baochai raised no objection.
只因薛蟠天性是"得陇望蜀"的，如今得娶了金桂，又见金桂的丫髮宝蟾有三分姿色，举止轻浮可爱，便时常要茶要水的故意撩逗他。
Xue Pan was in some respects like the general of old in whom ‘conquest did but breed appetite for further conquest', for when, after his marriage to Jin-gui, he discovered that she had an attractive, rather coquettish maid called Moonbeam, he was continually calling to her to bring him things - cups of tea and the like - so as to have an opportunity of flirting with her.
我且乘他疏远之时，摆布了香菱，那时宝蟾原是我的人，也就好处了。”
and with Caltrop out of the way, settling Moonbeam's hash ought to be easy, because Moonbeam is my own servant.”
薛蟠接碗时故意捏他的手，宝蟾又乔装躲闪，连忙缩手。
While Moonbeam was handing him the cup, he deliberately gave her fingers a squeeze; Moonbeam, with a very unnatural affectation of modesty, drew back her hand;
两下里失误，"豁啷"一声，茶碗落地，泼了一身一地的茶。
let the cup fall with a clatter to her ground, splashing her clothes as well as the floor with tea.
薛蟠不好意思，佯说宝蟾不好生拿着，宝蟾说：“姑爷不好生接。”
To cover his confusion, Xue Pan accused the maid of carelessness.
薛蟠只低头微笑不语，宝蟾红了脸出去。
Xue Pan hung his head and laughed sheepishly and Moonbeam fled blushing from the room when,
金桂道:"要作什么和我说，别偷偷摸摸的不中用。”
“If you want something, tell me,” she continued. “Acting on the sly is no good.”
薛蟠听了，仗着酒盖脸，便趁势跪在被上，拉着金桂笑道："好姐姐，你若把宝蟾赏了我，你要怎样就怎样。
Encouraged by her words and fortified by what he had drunk against any feeling of shame, he knelt down on the bed-covers beside her and seized her hand. ‘Listen, lover,' he said: ‘if you will let me have your Moonbeam, I'll give you anything you ask for - anything at all.
你要活人脑子，也弄来给你。”
If you want someone's brains, I'll get them for you!”
次日也不出门，只在家中厮耐，越发放大胆了。
The next day he stayed indoors killing time at home, feeling increasingly randy.
至午后，金桂故意出去，让个空儿与他二人，薛蟠便拉拉扯扯的起来。
A little after midday Jin-gui rather pointedly went out in order to leave the coast clear.
Xue Pan lost no time in setting to work on Moonbeam,
正要入港，谁知金桂是有心等候的，料着在难分之际，便叫小丫头子舍儿过来。
Carnal congress seemed imminent.But Jin-gui had been waiting for this moment only in order to frustrate it.
Jin-gui had a maid called Orfie who had been with her in her mother's house since she was a child.
原来这小丫头也是金桂从小儿在家使唤的，因他自幼父母死亡，无人看管，便大家叫他作小舍儿，专作些粗笨的生活。
Orfie had lost both her patents when she was little and had no one else to look after her, so when she first entered service with the Xias, she was invariably referred to as ‘the little orphan'.
Her name ‘Orfie' was simply a convenient contraction of this.
Orfie's duties were normally of a rough and menial kind, but on this occasion she was employed by her mistress on a task requiring some finesse.
金桂如今有意独唤他来吩咐道："你去告诉秋菱，到我屋里将手帕取来，不必说我说的。”
Now, according to her plan, Jingui summoned her. “Go and get Qiuling to fetch my handkerchief from my room,” she ordered. “No need to tell her that these are my instructions.”
不防正遇见他二人推就之际，一头撞了进去，自己倒羞的耳面飞红，忙转身回避不迭。
bursting into the room at the very moment when Xue Pan and Moonbeam were in the interesting situation we have just described.
She turned back, blushing to the tips of her ears, but not in time to escape the notice of the other two.
那薛蟠自为是过了明路的，除了金桂，无人可怕，所以连门也不掩。
As Xue Pan felt he had cleared himself with his wife, and apart from her there was no one he need be afraid of, he had not even bothered to bolt the door.
这会子秋菱撞来，故虽不十分在意，无奈宝蟾素日最是说嘴要强，今既遇见秋菱，便恨无地可入，忙推开薛蟠一径跑了，口内还怨恨不绝，说他强奸力逼。
Baochan, however, had a sharp tongue and a strong sense of self-importance.
Xiangling's sudden intrusion made her wish the earth would swallow her up.
At once she pushed Xue Pan away and rushed out of the room crying rape.
薛蟠再来找宝蟾，已无踪迹了，于是恨的只骂香菱。
Abandoning the chase, he went back to look for Moonbeam but could find no trace of her.
至晚饭后，已吃得醺醺然，洗澡时不防水略热了些，烫了脚，便说香菱有意害他，赤条精光赶着香菱踢打了两下。
After dinner that evening, befuddled with wine, he happened to scald his feet because the bath water was rather hot.
Blaming this on Xiangling he ran out, stark naked as he was, to kick and beat her.
香菱虽未受过这气苦，既到了此时，也说不得了，只好自悲自怨，各自走开。
The poor girl had never been treated so badly before, but there was nothing she could do except to slip away nursing her grievance.
彼时金桂已暗和宝蟾说明，今夜令薛蟠和宝蟾在香菱房中去成亲，命香菱过来陪自己先睡。
By now Jingui had told Baochan in confidence to spend the night with Xue Pan in Xiangling's room and become his concubine.
When Xiangling, ordered to sleep with her,
薛蟠听了这话，又怕闹黄了宝蟾之事，忙又赶来骂秋菱：“不识抬举，再不去就要打了！”
Xue Pan, hearing this, feared he might be thwarted again and therefore joined in too. “You ungrateful bitch!”he roared at Xiangling.