话说王夫人打发人来叫宝钗过去商量，宝玉听见说是和尚在外头，赶忙的独自一人走到前头，嘴里乱嚷道：“我的师父在那里？”
Lady Wang sent for Bao-chai to consult with her, while Bao-yu, hearing that the monk was outside, rushed to the front courtyard on his own. ‘Where is my Master?” he shouted.
叫了半天，并不见有和尚，只得走到外面。
Finally, as there was no sign of the monk there, he went outside,
见李贵将和尚拦住，不放他进来。
saw Li Gui barring the way, refusing the monk admission.
宝玉便说道：“太太叫我请师父进去。”
"The mistress has sent me," said Baoyu, "to invite this holy man in."
李贵听了，松了手，那和尚便摇摇摆摆的进来。
Then Li Gui let go of the monk who swaggered in and,
宝玉看见那僧的形状与他死去时所见的一般，心里早有些明白了，便上前施礼，连叫：“师父，弟子迎候来迟。”
Bao-yu observed at once the resemblance between this monk and the guide in his dream, and the truth began to grow clearer in his mind.
He bowed:‘Master, please forgive your disciple for being so slow in welcoming you.”
那僧说：“我不要你们接待，只要银子拿了来，我就走。”
"I don't want you to entertain me," the monk replied. "Just hand over the silver and I'll be off."
宝玉听来，又不象有道行的话。
This was hardly the way one would have expected a man of great spiritual attainments to talk, reflected Bao-yu.
看他满头癞疮，浑身腌破烂，心里想道：“自古说‘真人不露相，露相不真人’，也不可当面错过。
But then he looked at the monk's head, which was covered with scabs, and at his filthy, tattered robe, and thought to himself:‘There's an old saying: “The True Sage does not reveal himself, and he who reveals himself is no True Sage. ” I must be careful not to waste this opportunity.
我且应了他谢银，并探探他的口气。”
but agree to give him the reward so as to sound him out."
便说道：“师父不必性急。
He replied, "Please have patience, master,
现在家母料理，请师父坐下，略等片刻。
My mother is preparing your money at this very moment.
Please be seated and wait a while.
弟子请问，师父可是从太虚幻境而来？”
May I venture to enquire, Father, whether you have recently returned from the Land of Illusion?”
那和尚道：“什么‘幻境’，不过是来处来、去处去罢了。
‘Illusion, my foot!”exclaimed the monk. ‘I come whence I come, and I go whither I go.
宝玉一时对答不来，那僧笑道：“你自己的来路还不知？
For a minute or so Bao-yu could think of no reply.
The monk laughed. ‘If you know nothing of your own provenance,
宝玉本来颖悟，又经点化，早把红尘看破，只是自己的底里未知。
Baoyu had the intelligence after all he had experienced to have seen through the vanity of this earth, being simply ignorant of his own antecedents.
一闻那僧问起玉来，好象当头一棒，便说道：“你也不用银子的，我把那玉还你罢。”
The monk's question awoke him to the truth. "You don't need any silver," he cried. "I'll return you the jade."
那僧笑道：“也该还我了。”
‘And so you should!” chuckled the monk.
宝玉也不答言，往里就跑。
Without a word Baoyu raced in
走到自己院内，见宝钗、袭人等都到王夫人那里去了，忙向自己床边取了那玉，便走出来。
He reached his apartment and, finding that Bao-chai, Aroma and the others had all gone out to wait on his mother, he quickly picked up his jade from where it lay by his bed and ran back with it.
As he left the room,
迎面碰见袭人，撞了一个满怀，把袭人唬了一跳，说道：“太太说你陪着和尚坐着很好。
he collided with Aroma, giving her the fright of her life. ‘Her Ladyship was just saying what a good idea it was,' she protested, ‘for you to sit and keep the monk company,
太太在那里打算送他些银两，你又回来做什么？”
while she tried to work out a way of raising the money.
What on earth have you come rushing in here for again?”
宝玉道：“你快去回太太说：不用张罗银子了，我把这玉还了他就是了。”
‘I want you to go back at once,' ordered Bao-yu,‘and tell Mother she needn't bother about the money.
I shall give him back the jade.
That will settle the bill.”
袭人听说，即忙拉住宝玉，道：“这断使不得的！
Aroma seized Bao-yu at once: ‘That's completely crazy!