然后说至警幻所授云雨之情，羞的袭人掩面伏身而笑。
But when he came to the part of it in which he made love to Two-in-one, Aroma threw herself forward with a shriek of laughter and buried her face in her hands.
宝玉亦素喜袭人柔媚娇悄，遂强袭人同领警幻所训云雨之事。
Since Baoyu had long been attracted by Xiren's gentle, coquettish ways, he urged her to carry out the instructions with him;
袭人素知贾母已将自己与了宝玉的，今便如此，亦不为越礼，遂和宝玉倫试一番，幸无人撞见。
and as she knew that the Lady Dowager had given her to Baoyu she felt this would not be an undue liberty.So they tried it out secretly together, and luckily they were not discovered.
按荣府中一宅中合算起来，人口虽不多，从上至下，也有三四百丁；事虽不多，一天也有一二十件，竟如乱麻一般， 并没有个头绪可作纲领。
The inhabitants of the Rong mansion, if we include all of them from the highest to the humblest in our total, numbered more than three hundred souls, who produced between them a dozen or more incidents in a single day.Faced with so exuberant an abundance of material, what principle should your chronicler adopt to guide him in his selection of incidents to record?”
正寻思从那一件事，自那一个人写起方妙，恰好忽从千里之外，芥豆之微，小小一个人家，向与荣府略有些瓜葛，这日正往荣府中来，因此便就从此一家说来，倒还是头绪。
Just as I was wondering with which event or person to begin, suddenly from a thousand ii away came a humble individual as insignificant as a mustard-seed, who being remotely connected with the Rong House was that day paying them a visit.Let me take her family, then, as a starting point.
你道这一家姓甚名谁，又与荣府有甚瓜葛?
Do you know the name of this family and its remote connection with the Rong Mansion?”
诸公若嫌琐碎粗鄙呢，则快掷下此书，另觅好书去醒目；若谓聊可破愁时，待蠢物细细讲来。
If you think this too trivial or vulgar, Gentle Readers, you had better put this book down and choose one more to your liking.If you fancy this senseless story will serve to while away the time, then let me, the stupid Stone, tell you it in detail.
方才所说这小小之家，姓王，乃本地人氏，祖上曾作过小小的一个京官，昔年曾与凤姐之祖、王夫人之父认识。
Their name was Wang and they were natives of these parts.A grandfather had held some very small official post in the capital and had there become acquainted with Wang Xi-feng's grandfather, the father of Lady Wang.
因贪王家的势利，便连了宗，认作侄儿。
Eager to attach himself to the powerful Wangs, he ‘joined family” with them, calling himself Wang's nephew.
那时只有王夫人之大兄凤姐之父与王夫人随在京中的，知有此一门连宗之族，余者皆不认识。
Only Lady Wang and her elder brother―Wang Xi-feng's father―who chanced at that time to be staying with their parent on his tour of duty at the capital, knew anything about this.The other members of the clan were unaware that any such relationship existed.
目今其祖已故，只有一个儿子，名唤王成，因家业萧条，仍搬出城外原乡中住去了。
The grandfather had long since died, leaving an only son called Wang Cheng who, having fallen on hard times, had moved back into the countryside somewhere outside the capital.
一家四口，仍以务农为业。
The four of them depended on agriculture for their living,
因狗儿白日间自作些生计，刘氏又操井臼等事，青、板姊弟两个无人照管，狗儿遂将岳母刘老老接来，一处过活。
As Gouer was busy during the day and his wife had the housework to see to, there was nobody to mind the children until he fetched his mother-in-law Granny Liu to live with them.
因这年秋尽冬初，天气冷将下来，家中冬事未办，狗儿心中未免烦虑，吃了几杯闷酒，在家闲寻气恼，刘氏也不敢顶撞。
The season was now at the turn between autumn and winter.The cold weather was beginning, but none of the preparations for winter had yet been made.By drinking to allay his anxiety, Gou-er merely put himself more out of temper.He returned home to vent some of his spleen on his long-suffering wife.
因此刘老老看不过，便劝道：“姑爷，你别嗔着我多嘴，咱们村庄人家儿，那一个不是老老实实，守着多大碗儿吃多大的饭呢？
Grannie Liu could eventually stomach no more of his wife-baiting and intervened on her daughter's behalf.'Now look here, son-in-law: probably you will think me an interfering old woman; but we country folk have to be grateful for what is in the pot and cut down our appetites to the same measure.
你皆因年小时候，托着老子娘的福，吃喝惯了，如今所以有了钱就顾头不顾尾，没了钱就瞎生气，成了什么男子汉大丈夫了！
When you were little your Ma and Pa could afford to indulge you; so now you're grown-up you spend all your money as soon as you've got any, without stopping to count the cost; then, when it's all gone, you start making a fuss.But what sort of way is that for a grown man to behave?”
如今咱们虽离城住着，终是天子脚下。
'Now where we live may be out in the country, but it's still “in the Emperor's shadow”, as they say.
在家跳蹋也不中用的。”
What's the sense in rampaging around here at home when you could go out and help yourself?”
狗儿听说，便急道："你老只会炕头儿上混说，难道叫我打劫偷去不成?"
It's easy for you to jabber away on the kang,”Gouer retorted.“Do you want me to go out and steal?”
也到底大家想法儿裁度，不然那银子钱自己跑到咱家来不成?"
Because if we don't, the money isn't going to come walking in the door of its own accord.”
狗儿冷笑道："有法儿还等到这会子呢。
“Would I have waited all this time if there was some way out?”Gouer snorted.
就有，也只怕他们未必来理我们呢。”
Even if I did have rich friends or relations, I'm not so sure they would want to be bothered with the likes of us.”
当日你们原是和金陵王家连过宗的，二十年前，他们看承你们还好；如今自然是你们拉硬屎，不肯去俯就他，故疏远起来。
In the old days you joined families with the Wangs of Jinling, and twenty years back they treated you not badly.Since then of course you've been too pigheaded to go near them, so that now you've drifted apart.
想当初我和女儿还去过一遭。
“I recollect calling on them once with my daughter.