凤姐也掌不住，便叫丰儿：“快回去把那件银鼠坎肩儿拿来，我在三姑娘那里等着。”
"Run back and fetch me that sleeveless ermine jacket.
I can't stand this," ordered Xifeng. "I'll be waiting for you in Miss Tanchun's place."
丰儿巴不得一声，也要回去穿衣裳，连忙答应一声，回头就跑了。
Felicity was glad of a chance to put on some warmer clothes herself, and needed no second bidding. ‘Yes, ma'am,' she replied, turning about at once and heading for home at a run.
凤姐刚举步走了不远，只觉身后哧哧似有闻嗅之声，不觉头发森然直竖起来。
Xifeng was just walking on when a snuffling and sniffing behind her made her hair stand on end.
凤姐吓的魂不附体，不觉失声的了一声，却是一只大狗。
Scared out of her wits, she let out a little scream as she saw that it was a hound.
那狗抽头回身，拖着个扫帚尾巴，一气跑上大土山上，方站住了，回身犹向凤姐拱爪儿。
- pad away from her, trailing a bushy tail.It went bounding up to the top of a mound of earth, stood stock-still, and then turned back towards her, raising its front paws in the air in a grotesque salutation.
将已来至门口，方转过山子，只见迎面有一个人影儿一恍。
She had almost reached her destination and was turning past a large rock when she caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure in the shadows ahead of her.
凤姐心中疑惑，还想着必是那一房的丫头，便问：“是谁？”
She wondered which apartment this maid belonged to."Who's there?”"she called out.
问了两声，并没有人出来，早已神魂飘荡了。
No one answered even when she repeated the question, and she was frightened out of her wits.
恍恍忽忽的似乎背后有人说道：“婶娘连我也不认得了？”
and in her confusion she thought she heard a voice behind her murmuring:‘Auntie, don't you even recognize me?”
凤姐忙回头一看，只见那人形容俊俏，衣履风流，十分眼熟，只是想不起是那房那屋里的媳妇来。
She swung round to see a pretty, well-dressed young woman who looked extremely familiar, though she could not identify her.
只听那人又说道：“婶娘只管享荣华、受富贵的心盛，把我那年说的‘立万年永远之基’，都付于东洋大海了？”
‘Auntie,' the lady continued, ‘I see that the enjoyment of splendour and wealth is still your only concern, and that my warning to you years ago, to “plan for the hard times to come”, has gone completely unheeded.”
凤姐听说，低头寻思，总想不起。
Xi-feng lowered her head to try to think for a moment, but still could recall neither the person's identity, nor the occasion to which she was referring.
那人冷笑道：“婶娘那时怎样疼我来，如今就忘在九霄云外了。”
The lady gave a rueful laugh. ‘How you loved me once!Has all memory of me been utterly erased from your mind?”
凤姐听了，此时方想起来是贾蓉的先妻秦氏，便说道：“嗳呀！
Only then did Xifeng realize that this was Jia Rong's first wife Qin Keqing. "Mercy!" she exclaimed.
啐了一口，方转回身要走时，不防一块石头绊了一跤，犹如梦醒一般，浑身汗如雨下。
She spat at the ghost and fled.But as she did so she tripped on a stone, and the shock of the fall gave her senses a jolt, as if waking them from a dream.
虽然毛发悚然，心中却也明白，只见小红、丰儿影影绰绰的来了。
Although her whole body had broken out in a sweat and she was still shivering with fright, she now felt alert and clear-headed and could distinguish the forms of Crimson and Felicity walking in her direction.
凤姐恐怕落人的褒贬，连忙爬起来，说道：“你们做什么呢，去了这半天？
Anxious lest her disarray provoke unfavourable comment, she hurriedly raised herself from the ground. ‘What have you two been doing?”she scolded them. ‘You've been an age.
一面丰儿走至跟前，伏侍穿上，小红过来搀扶着要往前走，凤姐道：“我才到那里，他们都睡了，回去罢。”
Felicity came forward and helped her into the jacket, while Crimson supported her, ready to walk on to Autumn Studio. ‘I've already been there,' said Xi-feng untruthfully.‘They are all asleep.
Let's go home now.”
一面说着，一面带了两个丫头，急急忙忙回到家中。
With that she hurried home with her two maids.
贾琏已回来了，凤姐见他脸上神色更变，不似往常，待要问他，又知他素日性格，不敢突然相问，只得睡了。
She arrived to find Jia Lian already at home, and could tell from the expression on his face that he was in a worse humour than usual.Although she wanted to ask what the matter was, she reflected that she would only be scolded for her pains, and so went straight to bed.
至次日五更贾琏就起来，要往总理内庭都检点太监裘世安家来打听事务。
The next day Jia Lian rose at dawn, meaning to call on the chief eunuch Qiu Shian who was in charge of the Audience Hall, to find out what news there was.
因太早了，见桌上有昨日送来的抄报，便拿起来闲看。
As it was too early to leave, he picked up from the desk a copy of the Court Gazette delivered the previous day and started to read it.
第一件“吏部奏请急选郎中，奉旨照例用事。”
[sic]
第二件是“刑部题奏云南节度使王忠一本，新获私带神枪火药出边事，共十八名人犯，头一名鲍音，系太师镇国公贾化家人。”
The next report was from the Board of Punishments, and communicated a memorial from the Governor of Yunnan Province, Wang Zhong, concerning the arrest of a gang engaged in smuggling firearms and gunpowder.There were eighteen members of the gang in all, the ringleader being one Bao Yin, a domestic in the employment of Grand Preceptor Jia Hua, Duke of Zhen-guo.