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‘You must come for some more tomorrow. I’llgive you another ten. You must get Aroma to give you one every night before yougo to sleep.’‘Yes. You ?old Aroma, Mother. She’s been givingme one every night, as you said.’‘Who is this “Aroma”?’ asked Jia Zheng sharply.‘A maid,’ said Lady Wang. 王夫人道：“明儿再取十丸去，天天临睡的时候，叫袭人服侍你吃了再睡。”宝玉道：“只从太太吩咐了，袭人天天晚上想着，打发我吃。”贾政问道：“袭人是何人？”王夫人道：“是个丫头。”‘I suppose there are no limits to what amaid may be called,’ said Jia Zheng, ‘but who would have picked an outlandishname like that to give her?’ 贾政道：“丫头不管叫个什么罢了，是谁这样刁钻，起这样的名字？”Lady Wang could see that he was displeasedand did her best to cover up for Bao-yu:‘I think it was Lady Jia who gave her the name.’‘Mother would never think of a name likethat,’ said Jia Zheng. ‘It must have been Bao-yu.’ 王夫人见贾政不自在了，便替宝玉掩饰道：“是老太太起的。”贾政道：“老太太如何知道这样的话，一定是宝玉。”Bao-yu saw that a frank avowal was nowunavoidable and rose to his feet:‘This maid has a surname which means “Flowers”. Thereis a line in an old poem I happened to remember The flowers’ aroma breathes ofhotter days and so I named her after that,’ 宝玉见瞒不过，只得起身回道：“因素日读书，曾记古人有一句诗云：‘花气袭人知昼暖’。因这个丫头姓花，便随口起了这个名字。”‘When you get back you must change the nameat once,’ said Lady Wang hurriedly to Bao-yu. ‘Come, Sir Zheng’—this to herhusband - ‘you aren’t going to get angry about a little thing like that?’ 王夫人忙又向宝玉道：“你回去改了罢。老爷也不用为这小事动气。”‘It doesn’t really matter,’ said Jia Zheng,‘and there is no need for him to change the name; but it demonstrates what Ihave always said about the boy: he is fundamentally in-capable of caring aboutserious matters and preoccupies himself with poetic frivolities and other suchairy-fairy nonsense as a substitute for solid learning. Wretched fellow I’ heshouted at Bao-yu. ‘What are you waiting for?’‘Go now, go now I’ said Lady Wang in a flutter.‘Grandma is probably waiting to begin her dinner.’ 贾政道：“究竟也无碍，又何用改。只是可见宝玉不务正，专在这些浓词艳赋上做工夫。”说毕，断喝一声：“作孽的畜生，还不出去！”王夫人也忙道：“去罢，去罢，只怕老太太等你吃饭呢。”Bao-yu murmured a reply and retired, rathermore slowly than was necessary. Emerging from the outer door, he grinned andstuck his tongue out at Golden, then shot off like a puff of smoke, the two oldnannies hurrying after him. Arriving at the entrance of the covered passage-wayhe came upon Aroma leaning in the doorway. Her face lit up when she saw himreturning unscathed and she asked him what his father had wanted to see himabout. 宝玉答应了，慢慢的退出去，向金钏儿笑着伸伸舌头儿，带着两个老嬷嬷一溜烟去了。刚至穿堂门前，只见袭人倚门立在那里，一见宝玉平安回来，堆下笑来问道：“叫你作什么？”‘Oh, nothing much,’ said Bao-yu. ‘He justwanted to say a few words about not getting up to mischief after we’ve movedinto the garden.’ 宝玉告诉她：“没有什么，不过怕我进园去淘气，吩咐吩咐。”
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