袭人笑道：“你们参禅参翻了，又叫我们跟着打闷葫芦了。”
‘I dare say,' returned Aroma, with a scornful sniff. ‘I'm sure that if you two went on Zennifying at each other till you were both blue in the face, we should still be standing here quite as much in the dark as ever.”
宝玉道：“头里我也年纪小，他也孩子气，所以我说了不留神的话，他就恼了。
‘When I was younger,' said Bao-yu, ignoring her jibes, ‘and Dai-yu was rather more childish in her ways, somehow I always managed to upset her by saying the wrong thing.
只是他近来不常过来，我又念书，偶然到一处，好像生疏了似的。”
But all the same I have noticed that when we meet, which is not very often, as she seldom visits me and I have to spend so much time studying, we almost seem to have grown apart in some way.
都长了几岁年纪了，怎么好意思还像小孩子时候的样子？”
“Now that you're both several years older, how can you go on behaving as if you were children?”
我问你：老太太那里打发人来说什么来着没有？”
Tell me: Has the old lady sent any message for me?”
宝玉道：“必是老太太忘了。
“Then she must have forgotten!” said Bao-yu.
明儿不是十一月初一日么？
Tomorrow's the first of the eleventh month, isn't it?”
年年老太太那里必是个老规矩，要办消寒会，齐打伙儿坐下喝酒说笑。
Every year Grannie has a party and invites the whole family over to celebrate the beginning of the Lessening Cold season, when the days start to get longer.
我今日已经在学房里告了假了。
I've already asked for the day off school, in fact.
若去了呢，白白的告了假；若不去，老爷知道了，又说我偷懒。”
If I do, I'll have asked for leave all for nothing.
If I don't, and my father knows, he'll call me an idler.”
昨儿听见太太说，兰哥儿念书真好，他打学房里回来，还各自念书作文章，天天晚上弄到四更多天才睡。
Yesterday I heard your mother praise Master Lan for really concentrating on his books.
Every evening after he comes back from school, he reads and writes essays on his own, not sleeping till nearly dawn.
你比他大多了，又是叔叔，倘或赶不上他，又叫老太太生气。
You're much older than he is, and his uncle too.
If you lag behind him the old lady will be angry.
倒不如明儿早起去罢。”
So I say, off to school early in the morning.”
麝月道：“这么冷天，已经告了假，又去，叫学房里说既这么着就不该告假呀，显见的是告谎假脱滑儿。
Musk did not agree, however. “In this cold weather?” she objected. “lf you go now, they'll wonder why you asked for the day off in the first place.
It will look as though you were inventing an excuse to get off school.
依我说，乐得歇一天。
I think you should make the most of it and have a day's rest.
就是老太太忘记了，咱们这里就不消寒了么？
If Her Old Ladyship has forgotten to have a party, we can always have one here instead.”
麝月道：“我也是乐一天是一天，比不得你要好名儿，使唤一个月，再多得二两银子。”
‘I believe in taking each day as it comes and having fun whenever you can,' said Musk defiantly. ‘I don't believe in sucking up to people and working myself to death for a two-tael bonus every month like you do, Aroma dear.”
麝月道：“我倒不是混拉扯，我是为你。”
“This isn't nonsense.
It's you I'm thinking of.”
麝月道：“二爷上学去了，你又该咕嘟着嘴想着，巴不得二爷早些儿回来，就有说有笑的了。
“Yes.
As soon as Master Bao's gone to school, you'll sit around mooning and moaning again, longing for him to come home and bring the sunshine back into your life.
这会子又假撇清，何苦呢！
Don't think you can fool me with that holier-than-thou attitude of yours.
袭人正要骂他，只见老太太那里打发人来，说道：”老太太说了，叫二爷明儿不用上学呢。
Aroma was on the point of giving Musk a large piece of her mind when one of Grandmother Jia's maids arrived and said:“Her Old Ladyship says Master Bao's not to go to school tomorrow.
明儿请了姨太太来给他解闷，只怕姑娘们都来家里的。
“She has asked Aunt Xue to come over to help pass the time, and most likely all our young ladies will come too.
史姑娘、邢姑娘、李姑娘们都请了，明儿来赴什么消寒会呢。”
Miss Xiangyun, Miss Xiuyan and Madam Zhu's cousins have been invited as well to this ‘cold―dispelling party'...
老太太最高兴的。
The old lady always enjoyed this party.