Niou had not for a moment forgotten the dim evening light in which he had seen the girl. —
尼奥一刻也没有忘记他看到那个女孩的昏暗夜色。 —

She would not appear to have been of the highest rank, and yet her clean grace left him deeply dissatisfied (for he was very susceptible) that he had not had his way. —
她似乎并非身份最高贵，但她干净的优雅让他深感不满（因为他很容易受到影响）自己没有得到他想要的。 —

He managed to work up considerable resentment at Nakanokimi.
他设法激起了对中之君的相当大的怨恨。

“I would not have expected it of you,” he said, so frequently that she began to wonder whether she ought not to tell him the whole story.
“我没有料到你会这样。”他说了很多次，以至于她开始疑惑自己是否应该把整个故事告诉他。

But no. The girl had attracted the notice of someone who — though he did not, it seemed, mean to make her his principal wife — was so taken with her that he had hidden her away. —
但不。这个女孩引起了某人的注意——尽管他似乎并不打算让她成为他的主要妻子——他对她着迷，把她藏起来了。 —

It was not for Nakanokimi to reveal secrets. —
暗之君不宜泄露秘密。 —

Besides, Niou could not be expected to sit idly by once he had learned the truth. —
此外，一旦他得知真相，尼奥就不能指望坐视不管。 —

Let him embark upon some fleeting dalliance with one of the women around him, and temptation would promptly lead him off to places where a prince ought not to go. —
让他和周围的一位女性开始一段短暂的风流韵事，诱惑会迅速引导他去一个王子不应该前往的地方。 —

The case of the girl who had been so on his mind over the days and weeks was almost certain to be troublesome. —
那个多日来一直牵挂在他心头的女孩的案子几乎肯定会引起麻烦。 —

Nakanokimi could do nothing, of course, if he were to learn the facts from someone else. —
暗之君在当然无法做任何事情，如果他从别人那里得知真相。 —

It would be sad for both Kaoru and Ukifune, but he would not be held back by the most persuasive arguments. —
这对薫和浮船都很悲哀，但是最有说服力的争论也不能阻止他。 —

And the effect upon Nakanokimi herself would be far more painful than the effect of all his other intrigues combined. —
对暗之君自己的影响将比他所有其他诡计加在一起的影响更加痛苦。 —

Well, she would in any case make sure that she herself was guilty of no carelessness. —
嗯，不管怎样，她会确保自己不会疏忽大意。 —

This sulking was not easy to live with, but she would say nothing. —
这种发脾气不容易相处，但她什么也不说。 —

Incapable of clever fabrication, she kept her peace and let him think her just another jealous woman.
由于无法巧妙地捏造，她保持沉默，让他以为她只是另一个嫉妒的女人。

Kaoru’s self-control, meanwhile, approached the unbelievable. —
薰的自控力逼近了难以置信的地步。 —

The girl would be expecting him, he knew, but a man in his position had to have good excuses for such a journey. —
他知道那个女孩会在等他，但是处于他这个位置的人必须有充分的理由去进行这样的旅程。 —

The road was more forbidding than if it had been proscribed by the gods. —
这条道路比若是被神明所禁止还要可怕。 —

He would in the end do his duty by her. She would be his companion in that mountain village. —
最终他会履行对她的责任。她将成为他在那个山村的伴侣。 —

He would invent some pretext for spending a few quiet days with her, but for the time being she must remain out of sight. —
他会编造一些理由，和她度过几天宁静的时光，但目前她必须保持低调。 —

When she was somewhat more settled and composed, he would arrange an acceptable sort of liaison, one that would not damage his good name. —
等到她更加安定和镇定了，他将安排一种可接受的关系，不会损害他的声誉。 —

He did not want people to be asking what this sudden development meant, and who the girl might be, and when it had all begun; —
他不希望人们问这突如其来的事态是什么意思，那个女孩是谁，这一切是何时开始的； —

his aim in visiting Uji was certainly not to attract attention. —
他访问宇治的目的当然不是为了引起注意。 —

And on the other hand he would not wish Nakanokimi to think that he had turned his back on a place so rich in memories and left the past behind. —
但另一方面，他也不希望中宫以为他已置身事外，抛弃了这个充满回忆的地方。 —

With his usual care and deliberation, he turned the arguments over in his mind.
他像往常一样慎重而深思地在脑海中思索这些论据。

Not that he was wholly inactive: he had commenced work on the house to which he would presently bring the girl. —
虽然他并不完全无所作为：他已开始为将来带那个女孩来的房子进行工作。 —

He was a busy man, but he continued to visit Nakanokimi regularly. —
他是一个忙碌的人，但他仍定期拜访中宫。 —

Though some of her women thought it all rather odd, Nakanokimi herself, more familiar now with the ways of the world, was much moved. —
虽然有些侍女觉得这一切有些奇怪，但现在对世俗之道更加熟悉的中宫，深受感动。 —

Here was a man who did not forget, whose affections did not wear thin with the passage of time. —
这是一个不会忘记的男人，他的情感不会随着时间的流逝而消退。 —

The years seemed to improve him, even as the hopes the world had for him rose. —
随着他的希望逐渐升起，岁月似乎让他变得更好。 —

Seeing, by contrast, how deplorably capricious and unreliable her husband was, she could only sigh at the strange, sad fate that seemed to be hers. —
然而，她的丈夫变幻莫测，不可靠，她只能叹息于似乎是她命运的奇怪悲哀。 —

Oigimi’s plans for her had come to nothing, and she had found herself married to a man whose chief contribution to her life was gloomy foreboding.
大君的计划失败了，她发现自己嫁给了一个给她生活带来阴郁预兆的男人。

Yet it was difficult to receive Kaoru with the warmth she really felt. —
然而，很难以她真正感受到的热情来接待薰。 —

The Uji years were receding into the distance. —
宇治的岁月在渐行渐远。 —

People of the lower classes might presume upon such a relationship, muttered some of her women, unfamiliar with happenings at Uji, but it certainly was most irregular for grandchildren of emperors. —
下等阶层的人们可能会误解这种关系，一些不了解宇治的女将低声说道，但对皇帝的孙子的行为来说，这种关系绝对是异常的。 —

In the natural course of events, then, she began to seem more distant, even though her feelings for him were as they had always been. —
在自然的情况下，她开始显得更加疏远，尽管她对他的感情始终如旧。 —

Niou might upset her from time to time with his erratic ways, but the little prince was growing up, more of a delight each day. —
尽管尼奥有时可能会因其反复无常而使她感到不安，但是小王子正在成长，每天都令人愉快。 —

Thinking it unlikely that another lady would favor him with so pretty a child, he lavished great affection upon her, affection, indeed, such as the lady at Rokujō did not enjoy. —
他认为另一个女士不太可能会赐予他这样一个漂亮的孩子，因此对她表现出极大的感情，实际上，与六条的贵妇人不同享受的感情。 —

In spite of everything, Nakanokimi was feeling more sure of herself.
尽管一切，中后君感到更加自信。

At about noon one day early in the New Year, when Niou was playing with the child, now in its second year, a little girl came bounding in and handed the princess a rather fat letter in a fine, cream-colored envelope. —
在新年的早些日子的中午时分，当尼奥正在和那个已经两岁的孩子玩耍时，一个小姑娘蹦蹦跳跳地进来，递给公主一封相当肥厚的信封，信封是细腻的奶油色。 —

With it were a small “whiskered basket” attached to an artificial seedling pine, and a second letter, more formally folded.
附带着一个固定在一个人工培育的松树上的小“有触须的篮子”，还有一封更正式地折叠的第二封信。

“And where might they be from?” asked Niou.
“这是从哪里来的呢？”尼奥问道。

“The man said from Uji, for Madame Tayū. I didn’t know what to do with them, and I thought my lady might like to see them. —
“那人说是从宇治寄来的，送给田游夫人的。我不知道该怎么办，我想我的女主可能想看看。 —

She always does.” The girl was confused. “Just look at this basket, will you. —
她总是想看。”那女孩感到困惑。“你看看这个篮子，行不行。 —

Metal, and it’s colored all over. And look at this pine. —
金属制的，全身都上了颜色。再看看这株松树。 —

Look at the branches. You might think it was real.”
看着这些枝叶。你或许会觉得它是真的。

She smiled, and Niou smiled back. “Yes, do let me have a look at it.”
她微笑着，尼王也微笑着。“是的，请让我看看。”

“Take them to Tayū immediately.” Nakanokimi flushed. She did not want him to read the letters.
“立刻把它们送给太夫人。”中内君脸红了。她不想让他看这些信件。

Would they be from Kaoru? They did look like women’s letters, but he could easily have disguised them, and Uji would have been an apt choice for their source. —
这些信是来自薰的吗？它们看起来像女人写的，但他很容易伪装，而宇治是一个合适的来源。 —

He took one of them up. But he too was confused. —
他捡起其中一个。但他也感到困惑。 —

He hoped that his suspicions would not prove correct.
他希望他的怀疑不会被证实。

“I’m going to open it. Will you be angry with me?”
“我要打开它。你会生我的气吗？”

“It’s not good manners to look at private notes between women. —
“窥探女人之间的私信并不礼貌。 —

” Nakanokimi managed to seem unconcerned.
”中内君设法显得毫不在意。

“You really must let me see them. What might it be like, I wonder, a letter from one woman to another?”
“你真的必须让我看看。我好奇，不知道，一封女人写给另一位女人的信会是怎样的呢？”

“I have been very remiss about writing, and here we are, going into the New Year. Our gloomy mountains offer no break in the winter mists. —
“我很疏忽地没有写信，我们正在步入新年。我们阴郁的山峦在冬日云雾中没有丝毫缝隙。 —

” The hand was that of a very young woman. —
”笔迹是一个非常年轻的女子的。 —

” These are cheap trinkets, but give them to the little prince, if you will.”
”这些是廉价的小玩意，但如果你愿意，把它们送给小王子。

There was nothing remarkable about the letter. —
这封信并没有什么特别之处。 —

But he was curious to know who the writer might be. He took up the other. —
但他好奇写信人到底是谁。他拿起了另一封。 —

It too was, as she had said, in a woman’s hand.
它也是如她所说的，用女人的手写成。

“And how will our lady be, now that the New Year has come? —
“新年到来了，我们的夫人会怎样呢？ —

I have no doubt that you yourself have a long list of blessings to count over. —
我毫不怀疑你自己有一长串的祝福要数。 —

This is a beautiful house and we are well taken care of, and yet it seems a pity that the young lady should be shut away in the mountains. —
这是一所美丽的房子，我们受到很好的照顾，但年轻夫人被关在山里似乎有点可惜。 —

I have been telling her that she must stop brooding, that she must pick herself up and visit you from time to time; —
我一直告诉她，她必须停止忧郁，她必须振作起来，时不时地来拜访你; —

but she refuses because of that awful thing and goes on brooding. —
但她因为那可怕的事情拒绝了并且继续忧郁。 —

She is sending streamers to decorate the little prince’s room. —
她正在寄送彩带去装饰小王子的房间。 —

Please show them to him when his father is away.”
请在他父亲不在时给他看。”

It was not a very pleasing letter. It was wordy and complaining and not at all in keeping with the happy season. —
这并不是一封很愉快的信。它冗长抱怨，一点都不符合欢乐的季节。 —

Puzzled, he read it again.
困惑之下，他重新阅读了一遍。

“You must tell me everything. Who is it from?”
“你必须告诉我一切。信是谁写的？”

“I am told that the daughter of a woman who was in service with us at Uji has been obliged to go back there.”
“我听说我们在宇治时的一个侍女的女儿不得不回去那里。”

But it did not seem the hand of an ordinary maidservant, and the mention of “that awful thing” was a valuable hint. —
但它看起来不是普通侍女的手笔，而“那可怕的事情”的提及是一个有价值的线索。 —

The streamers were charming, obviously the work of someone with a great deal of spare time, perhaps, indeed, too much. —
那些彩带很迷人，显然是有很多闲暇时间的人的作品，也许，事实上，时间太多。 —

A branch at a fork in the pine had been strung with artificial red berries, and a poem attached to it:
松树叉口处有一树枝挂着人造红浆果，附着一首诗：

“Our seedling pine has not known many years.
“我们的幼苗松树还没经历过多少年。

I see for it, withal, a pine’s long life.”
我却能看到它漫长的松树人生。”

It was not a particularly distinguished poem. —
这不是一首特别出色的诗。 —

Yet he continued to read it over, sensing that it would be from a lady who had been much on his mind.
但他继续默默地读着，感觉这首诗一定是由一位一直萦绕在他脑海中的女士所写。

“Send off an answer. You must not be rude, and I see no need for secrecy.” He turned to go. —
“回复一封信吧。你不能太无礼，也没必要保持秘密。” 他转身欲走。 —

“I have no choice but to leave you when you are in one of your moods.”
“你这样的时候，我只能离你而去。”

The princess summoned her women. “A great pity,” she said softly. —
公主传唤她的侍女们。“太可惜了，”她轻声说。 —

“You had to let them fall into the hands of an infant, did you?”
“难道至于让它们落入一个婴儿之手吗？”

“You surely don’t think we wanted it that way! —
“你肯定不认为我们希望这样吧！ —

No, that child is cheeky and forward and not as bright as she might be. —
不，那孩子蛮横、张扬，而且不够聪明。 —

It doesn’t take long to sort out the ones with possibilities. —
分辨有潜力的人花不了多久时间。 —

The quiet ones are the ones to watch.”
安静的人才是值得留意的。”

“Oh, don’t be angry with her,” said Nakanokimi. “She’s so young.”
“哦，别生她的气，”中内君说。“她还太年轻。”

The child had been put into Nakanokimi’s service the winter before. —
那孩子在去年冬天被安内君收为女官。 —

She was a pretty little thing and Niou was fond of her.
她是个漂亮的小姑娘，仁王对她很喜欢。

All very strange, thought Niou, back in his own rooms. —
所有的事情都很奇怪，尼奥想，在自己的房间里。 —

Having had reports that Kaoru continued to visit Uji, and a further report that he occasionally spent the night there, he had smiled and said to himself that his friend had strange ways, even granting the associations that Uji had for him. —
得知薰继续拜访宇治，并偶尔在那里过夜的报告后，他微笑着对自己说，他的朋友有着奇怪的方式，即使考虑到宇治对他的意义。 —

So a lady was hidden there!
所以那里藏着一位女士！

Niou remembered a certain official, a privy secretary, who had been of service to him in scholarly matters and who had close friends among Niou’s retainers. —
尼奥记得一个特定的官员，一个侍郎，他在学术事务上对他有帮助，而且在尼奥的家臣中有着密切的朋友。 —

He asked the man to bring anthologies for a game of rhyme guessing.
他请这个人拿来选集，玩一盘猜对联的游戏。

“Just leave them in the cabinet over there, if you will. By the way: —
“如果可以的话，请把它们放在那边的柜子里。顺便说一句： —

they tell me that the general is still making trips to Uji. His monastery must be very splendid — I only wish I could go have a look at it.”
他们告诉我，将军仍然频繁去宇治。他的寺庙肯定非常壮观——我只希望我能去看看。”

“Very splendid indeed, I understand, very dignified. —
“我明白，据说非常壮观，非常庄严。 —

Especially the Chapel of the Holy Name, people tell me. —
特别是圣名教堂，人们告诉我。 —

I understand that he has been going more often since last fall, and his men have been spreading rumors about a lady there, someone he does not find at all unattractive, I’m sure. —
我听说他自去年秋天以来更频繁地前往，他的手下一直在散布有关那里的一位女士的谣言，他肯定觉得她非常迷人。 —

He’s told the people at his manor to do everything they can for her, and they post guards every night, and then he keeps sending out secret supply wagons from town. —
他告诉庄园里的人竭尽所能为她提供一切帮助，夜里还派岗哨，然后他每天派出秘密的补给列车。 —

A very lucky lady — but she must be lonely and bored off there in the mountains. —
一个非常幸运的女士——但她肯定会在山上感到孤独无聊。 —

That’s what they say, or were saying along towards the end of last year.”
人们是这么说的，或者说是在去年年底左右的时候。”

What a delightful piece of intelligence!” They haven’t said who she might be? —
多么令人愉悦的情报！他们没有说她可能是谁？ —

I’ve heard that he visits a nun who’s lived there for a very long time.”
我听说他去看望一个在那里已经住了很长时间的尼姑。”

“The nun lives in a gallery. The lady herself is in the main hall, the new one. —
“这位修女住在一个画廊里。她本人在主厅里，那个新的。 —

She gets by comfortably, I believe, with acceptable enough women to wait on her.”
她过得相当舒适，我相信，有足够合适的女人伺候她。”

“Very, very interesting. What plans might he have for her? And what sort of woman is she? —
“非常，非常有趣。他可能对她有什么计划？她是怎样的一个女人？ —

He has his ways, you know, not at all like yours and mine. —
他有他的方式，你知道的，一点也不像你我。 —

I hear that his good brother is always after him for overdoing the religious thing and spending his nights off in mountain temples. —
我听说他的好兄弟总是批评他过分地搞宗教事务，晚上总是在山间的庙宇里。 —

And people say that he could find plenty of other places to be religious in if he had to, and needn’t go sneaking off to Uji. It has to be because of the late princess, people say. —
人们说如果他必须要过宗教生活，也有很多其他地方可以去，不需要偷偷溜到宇治。人们说这一定是为了已故的公主。 —

So here we are. Interesting, do you not think? —
所以在这里。有趣，你不这么认为吗？ —

The saint who is so much better than the rest of us does have his little secrets.”
这位比我们其他人要高尚得多的圣人确实有他的小秘密。”

It was very interesting. The secretary was the son-in-law of Kaoru’s steward and so was apprised of very intimate matters. —
这真是有趣。这位秘书是薰家的管家的女婿，因此了解很私密的事情。 —

Niou wondered how to go about learning for certain whether it was the girl he had seen at Nijō. She must in any case be unusual if she had caught Kaoru’s eye. —
仁王不知道该如何确定那个在二条见过的女孩是否就是她。如果她引起了薰的注意，她肯定与众不同。 —

And why should she be close to Nakanokimi? —
她为什么会与中宫那么亲近呢？ —

It so irritated him that he could think of nothing else, the quite evident fact that Kaoru and Nakanokimi had spirited the girl away.
薰和中宫将那个女孩带走这一事实非常激怒他。

The archery meet and the literary banquet were over and there were no great demands on his time. —
射箭比赛和文学宴会结束了，他并没有太多时间上的安排。 —

The provincial appointments that created such a stir on certain levels were no concern of his. —
在某些层面上造成轰动的省级任命并不关他的事。 —

He could think only of slipping off to Uji. The secretary from whom he had learned Kaoru’s secret had certain ambitions, and was adept at currying favor. —
他想的只是溜到宇治去。他从那位告诉他薰秘密的秘书那里知道，他有某些野望，并且擅长讨好人。 —

Niou did nothing to discourage him.
牛没有做任何事情来阻止他。

“Suppose I were to ask something really difficult of you,” he said one day. —
“假如我向你提一个真的很难的要求，”他有一天说。 —

“Would you do it for me?”
“你会为我做吗？”

The man bowed deeply.
那人深深鞠躬。

“Well, here we are then, and I hope I won’t shock you. —
“好吧，我们就在这里了，希望我不会吓到你。 —

I’ve learned that the lady at Uji might be someone I knew for a very little while a long time ago. She disappeared, and I’ve had reports that the general may have taken her away. —
我得知宇治的那位女士可能是我很久以前短暂认识的人。她消失了，我听到有人报告说将军可能把她带走了。 —

I can’t be really sure. I’d like to do a bit of sleuthing. —
我不能确定。我想做点侦探工作。 —

Do you think something might be arranged without attracting notice?”
你觉得能安排些事情而不引起注意吗？”

This would be difficult, thought the man. Still he could not refuse. —
这会很困难，那人心想。但他不能拒绝。 —

“The road leads through wild mountains, but not so very far, really. —
“道路穿越荒山，但其实并不太远。 —

If you leave in the evening you should be there by a little after ten. —
如果你傍晚出发，大约晚上十点多就到那了。 —

And it might be best to be home by dawn. —
可能最好在黎明前回来。 —

No one needs to know except the men who go with you, and not even they need to know everything.
除了跟随你去的那些人，没人需要知道，甚至他们也不需要知道所有的事情。

“My feelings exactly. I’ve made the trip before — but do try to keep it secret. —
“我也这么想。我以前做过这次旅程 — 但尽量保密。 —

There are always gossips who seem to think that people like me should stay at home.”
总有一些闲言碎语的人似乎认为像我这样的人应该呆在家里。”

Though he knew that he was being reckless, it was now too late to withdraw. —
尽管他知道自己很鲁莽，但现在已经太迟无法后退。 —

He took along two or three men who had been with him on other trips to Uji, this secretary, and the son of his old nurse, a young man who had just been promoted to the Fifth Rank for his work as a privy secretary. —
他带了两三个曾经和他一起去过宇治的人，还有这位秘书，以及他的老保姆的儿子，一个因为在内侍局的工作而晋升到了五品的年轻人。 —

They were all among his closer confidants. —
他们都是他较亲近的知己。 —

The secretary had orders to inquire carefully into comings and goings at Sanjō, and was certain that Kaoru would not be visiting Uji in the next day or two.
秘书被派去仔细打探三条的动静，并确信薰熙不会在未来一两天去宇治。

Memories came flooding back. Niou found himself pulled in several directions at once. —
记忆如潮水般涌来。匿王现在感到自己被多方牵引。 —

In the old days he had felt remarkably close to Kaoru, who had taken him by the hand and led him off to Uji. It bothered him a little to think what he was now doing to his good friend, and he was a little frightened too, for he was a prince, and even in the city his adventures were never secrets. —
从前，他曾与薰熙感情非常好，后者曾拉着他的手领他去宇治。想到自己现在对他的好友所做的事情，使他有些不安，也有些害怕，因为他是王子，即使在城市里，他的冒险也绝非秘密。 —

Such were his thoughts as, in drab incognito, he mounted his horse; —
他这样想着，隐姓埋名，骑马上路了； —

but he was of an impressionable, eagerly responsive nature. —
他是一个易受影响、急切回应的人。 —

His heart rose as they pushed deeper into the mountains. Would it be much longer? —
他的心随着他们深入山林而振奋起来。还要多久？ —

Would she let him see her? A tragedy indeed if he were denied even a glimpse of her!
她会让他见到她吗？如果他甚至不能瞥见她，那真是个悲剧！

He had come by carriage as far as the Hōshōji Temple and from there on horseback. —
他乘马一路过来，车子开到了宝生寺，然后骑马继续前行。 —

Making very good time, he was in Uji by perhaps eight in the evening. —
他很快地赶到了宇治，或许是大约八点左右。 —

The secretary having questioned an attendant of Kaoru’s who was familiar with the arrangements at Uji, they were able to pull up at an unguarded spot to the west of the house. —
秘书询问了一个熟悉宇治安排的侍者，他们得以在房子的西边一个无人处停了下来。 —

Breaking through the reed fence, they slipped inside. —
闯过芦苇篱笆，他们溜了进去。 —

The secretary himself was somewhat uncertain, not really knowing his way about, but the grounds did not seem to be heavily guarded. —
秘书自己有些不确定，因为并不熟悉这里，但地面似乎没有被重兵把守。 —

He saw a dim light and heard a rustling of garments at the south front of the house.
他看到了一点微弱的光亮，听到了房子南面前的衣裳响动。

“There still seem to be people up. Come this way, please, if you will.”
“似乎还有人没睡呢。请这边走，好吗？”

Niou made his way softly up the stairs and leaned forward to take advantage of a crack he had found in a shutter. —
牛尾悄悄地走上楼梯，探身利用他在百叶窗上找到的裂缝。 —

The rustling of an Iyo blind gave him brief pause. —
伊予的百叶窗的哗哗声让他停了一下。 —

The house was new and clean, and but roughly furnished. —
这房子是新的，很干净，但家具很简陋。 —

As if in confidence that no one would be looking in on them, the women inside had not bothered to cover the openings. —
女人们仿佛确信没有人会窥视，所以没有费心挡住门窗。 —

The curtain beyond the shutter had been lifted back across its frame. —
百叶窗后的帘子已被推开到架子的一边。 —

In the bright light, three or four women were sewing. —
在明亮的灯光下，有三四个女人在缝纫。 —

A pretty little maidservant was spinning thread. —
一个相貌俏丽的小使女正在纺线。 —

It was a face he had had a glimpse of in the torchlight at Nijō. Or was he perhaps mistaken? —
在二条的火炬灯下他已经瞥见过的脸。但或许他搞错了？ —

Then he saw the young woman who had announced herself as Ukon. Ukifune herself lay gazing into the light, her head pillowed on her arm. —
接着他看到了名字叫右近的年轻女子。光辉中，右边地仰卧着，把头靠在手臂上。 —

Her eyes, charmingly girlish and not without a certain dignity, and her forehead, thick hair spilling down over it, reminded him astonishingly of his princess at Nijō.
她那迷人而带有一种尊严的少女般的眼睛和额头上浓密的头发，令他惊讶地想起了二条上的那位公主。

“But if you do go, I don’t imagine you’ll be coming back very soon. —
“但如果你走了，我想你不会很快回来的。” —

” It was Ukon, busy creasing a robe. “We had that messenger from the general yesterday, you know. The general will be coming on about the first of the month, we can be sure of it, once the business of the provincial appointments is out of the way. —
右近正忙着折叠一件衣裳。“昨天我们接到了将军的使者，你知道的。一旦省级任命的事情解决了，将军肯定会在月初左右到来。 —

What has he said in his letters?”
他在信里写了些什么？”

Evidently sunk in thoughts of her own, the girl did not answer.
显然沉浸在自己的思绪中，女孩没有回答。

“It won’t look at all good, running off when you know he’ll be coming.”
“当你知道他会来的时候跑掉，这样做看起来不太好。”

“I think you ought to let him know about your plans,” said the woman facing Ukon. “It won’t seem very nice to go dashing off without a word to him. —
“我觉得你应该让他知道你的计划，”面对右近说的女人说。“不说一声就匆忙离去似乎不太好。” —

And I think you ought to come back as soon as you’ve had time for a prayer or two. —
“我认为你应该在做完一两次祷告后就回来。” —

I know this is a lonely place, but it’s a safe, quiet place too. —
“我知道这是一个孤独的地方，但也是一个安全、安静的地方。” —

Once you’re used to it you’ll feel more at home than you ever did in the city.”
“一旦你习惯了这里，你会觉得比在城市里更有家的感觉。”

“Don’t you think the polite thing,” said another woman, whom he could not see, “would be to wait a little while? —
“你不觉得礼貌的做法是等一会儿吗？”另一个他看不见的女人说。 —

After you’re in the city you can have a good visit with your mother. —
“在你进城之后，你可以好好地和你母亲聊聊。” —

The old woman here is much too quick with her good ideas. —
这里的老人想出主意想得太快了。 —

Careful plans turn out best in the end. It is true now and it has always been true.”
小心谨慎的计划最终是最好的。这是真的，现在也是真的。

“Why didn’t you stop her? Old people are such a nuisance. —
“你为什么不阻止她？老人真是讨厌。” —

” These reproaches seemed to be directed at Ukifune’s nurse.
这些责备似乎是对准右近的乳母说的。

Yes, to be sure, thought Niou: there had. been a troublesome old woman with the girl. —
是的，确实想到了：那个令女孩烦恼的老太太。 —

The memory of that evening had a misty, spectral quality about it.
那个晚上的记忆有一种朦胧的、幽灵般的质感。

The talk went on, so open that he was almost embarrassed. —
谈话继续进行，如此坦诚，以至于他几乎感到尴尬。 —

“I say the lucky one is our lady in the city. —
“我说城里的幸运儿是我们的夫人。” —

The minister throws his weight about and makes a big thing of having royalty for a son-in-law, but since our little master was born our side has had the better of it. —
部长摆出架子，为拥有皇室女婿大做文章，但自从我们小少爷出生以来，我们这边更占优势。 —

And there aren’t any nasty, pushy old women at Nijō, and our lady can do very much as she pleases.”
而且在二条府没有什么讨厌、张扬的老妇人，我们的夫人很多时候可以为所欲为。”

“Oh, but our own lady will be doing just as well if the general keeps his promises. —
“哦，但是如果将军遵守诺言的话，我们夫人也会过得很好。 —

She’ll be there with the best of them.”
她会和那些最好的人一起。”

“There with the best of them!” Ukifune raised herself on an elbow. “Did you have to say that? —
“和那些最好的人一起！”悠姬舒了舒肘。 “你非得说到这儿吗？ —

You know I don’t want you comparing me with the lady at Nijō. What if she were to hear?”
你知道我不想让你拿我和二条的夫人比较。如果她听到了呢？”

How might the two of them be related, this girl and his own lady? —
这个女孩和他自己的女士可能有什么关系？ —

There was an unmistakable resemblance. The girl was no match for the other in proud, cool elegance. —
毫无疑问，这个女孩和另一个自负、冷漠的女性有着明显的相似之处。 —

She was winsome and pretty, no more, and her features were delicately formed. —
她娇俏可爱，容貌精致。 —

A suggestion of less than the rarest refinement, however, was not enough to make him withdraw when he had before his eyes a girl who had been so long and persistently on his mind.
虽然有一种不那么高贵的建议，但这并不足以让他在眼前的这个女孩面前退缩，这个在他心中长期挥之不去的女孩。

This first good look at her left him in an agony of impatience to make her his own. —
第一次好好看她，让他焦躁不安地渴望让她成为自己的。 —

It would appear that she was going on a journey. And she seemed to have parents. —
看起来她要去旅行。而且她似乎有父母。 —

When would he have another such chance? What might he hope to accomplish in the course of the night?
他还会有这样的机会吗？在这一晚里他能够希望实现什么？

He gazed on and on, in growing agitation.
他越看越焦躁不安。

“I’m very sleepy,” said Ukon, gathering up half-sewn garments and hanging them over the curtain rack. —
“我好困，”右近收拢半缝制的衣服挂在幔幕架上。 —

“I don’t know why, but I hardly slept at all last night. I can finish tomorrow morning. —
“我不知道为什么，但我昨晚几乎没睡。明天早上我可以完成。 —

Even if your mother gets an earl y start it will be noon by the time she gets here. —
即使你妈妈早早出发，她要到这里也得到中午。 —

” Leaning on an armrest, she seemed about to doze off. —
”她依靠在扶手上，似乎快要打盹。 —

The girl retired somewhat farther into the room and lay down. —
女孩稍微退到房间更深处躺下。 —

After disappearing into a back room for a time, Ukon reappeared and lay down at her feet. —
在后面的房间消失一段时间后，右近再次出现，躺在她脚下。 —

Soon she was fast asleep.
很快她就进入了甜蜜的梦乡。

At a loss for other devices, Niou tapped on the shutter.
当别的装置找不到时，Niou轻轻敲击百叶窗。

“Who is it?” asked Ukon.
“是谁？”Ukon问道。

He cleared his throat. A most genteel sound, thought Ukon. It would be Kaoru. She came to the shutter.
他清了清嗓子。Ukon想，这声音真温文尔雅。可能是薰。她走到了百叶窗边。

“Raise it, if you will, please.”
“请把百叶窗打开。”

“You’ve chosen a strange hour. It must be very late.”
“你选了个奇怪的时候。肯定已经很晚了。”

“I heard from Nakanobu that your lady would be going away, and I came running. —
“我从中信那里听说你们家的姑娘要离开，我就赶紧过来了。” —

It was a terrible trip, terrible. Do raise the shutter, please. —
这是个可怕的行程，很可怕。请打开百叶窗。 —

” She obeyed, not guessing who it would be. —
她顺从了，不知道会是谁。 —

He spoke in undertones and skillfully imitated his friend’s mannerisms. —
他低声说话，巧妙地模仿了他朋友的举止。 —

“I’m all in tatters. Something really frightful happened along the way.”
“我穿得稀烂了。路上真的发生了一些可怕的事。”

“It must have been, I’m sure.” Uncertain what to do, she put the light at a distance.
“肯定是的。我相信你一定很不容易。”不知所措，她把灯放在了远处。

“I don’t want anyone to see me. Please don’t wake them.”
“我不希望别人看到我。请不要把他们吵醒。”

He was a clever mimic. Since their voices were similar, he was able to give a convincing enough imitation of Kaoru that he was shown to the rear of the hall. —
他是一个聪明的模仿者。由于他们的声音相似，他能够成功地模仿薰的声音，于是被领到了大厅的后面。 —

How trying for the poor man, thought Ukon, withdrawing behind a curtain. —
可怜的人，想Ukon，躲到了帷幕的后面。 —

Under rough travel guise he wore robes of a fine, soft weave. —
他身穿精致而柔软编织的长袍，虽然表面看着像个粗旅装束。 —

His fragrance scarcely if at all inferior to Kaoru’s, he undressed as if he were in his own private rooms and lay down beside Ukifune.
他的香气几乎不次于薰的，他像在自己的私室一样脱衣，躺在了滑船旁边。

“Why not where you usually sleep?”
“为什么不在你平常睡觉的地方呢？”

He did not answer. Ukon spread a coverlet over her mistress, and, arousing the women nearby, asked them to lie down some slight distance away. —
他没有回答。举人给她铺上被褥，并唤醒附近的女人们，让她们在稍远的地方躺下。 —

Since it was the practice for Kaoru’s men to be accommodated elsewhere, no one sensed what was happening.
由于薰的人通常被安排在其他地方，没有人意识到发生了什么。

“How very sweet of him, so late at night. Doesn’t she understand?”
“他这么晚来多么体贴啊。她不明白吗？”

“Oh, do be quiet.” Some people understand too well, thought Ukon. “A whisper in the middle of the night can be worse than a scream.”
“哦，安静点。”某些人太了解了，举人心想。“半夜小声说话比尖叫还要糟糕。”

Ukifune was stunned. She knew that it was not Kaoru; —
滑船惊呆了。她知道那不是薰； —

but whoever it was had put his hand over her mouth. —
但那个人却把手掌覆盖在她嘴上。 —

(If he was capable of such excesses at home, with everyone watching, what would he not be capable of here? —
（如果他在家里都这样放肆，众目睽睽之下，那他在这里还会做什么呢？ —

) Had she known immediately that it was not Kaoru, she might have resisted, even a little; —
）如果她当时立即知道那不是薰，她也许会反抗一点； —

but now she was paralyzed. She had hurt him on an earlier occasion, he said, and she had been on his mind ever since; —
但现在她是麻痹的。他说他曾在她身上受过伤，从此心心念念； —

and so she quickly guessed who he was. Hideously embarrassed, horrified at the thought of what was being done to her sister, she could only weep. —
所以她很快猜出了他是谁。在极度尴尬中，想到对她妹妹正在发生的事，她只能流泪。 —

Niou too was in tears. It would not be easy to see her again. —
妮欧也在哭泣。见她可能不易。 —

Might it have been better not to come at all?
也许不来会更好吗？

And so the night sped past. Outside, an attendant coughed to warn of the approach of dawn. —
于是夜晚飞逝而过。外面，有个侍者咳嗽，提醒黎明即将到来。 —

Ukon came out. Niou did not want to leave, for he had had far from enough of the girl’s company — and it would be difficult to come again. —
乌根走了。仁王不想离开，因为他对这位姑娘的陪伴远远不够——而且再来可能会很困难。 —

Very well: let them raise any sort of commotion they wished. —
好吧，让他们引起任何骚动都可以。 —

He would not go back today. One loved while one lived. —
他今天不会回去。一个人只有活着时才能去爱。 —

Why go back and die of longing?
为什么要回去，让思念把自己消磨掉呢？

He summoned Ukon. “You will think it unwise, I am sure, but I propose to spend the day here. —
他叫乌根过来。“你一定会认为这不明智，但我打算在这里度过今天。 —

Have my men hide somewhere not too far away, and send Tokikata to the city with good excuses — maybe he can say I’m busy praying at a mountain temple.”
让我的手下藏在不太远的地方，派人把时时彻送到城里去，找个好借口——或许可以说我忙着在山寺祈祷。”

Ukon was aghast. Why had she not been more careful? —
乌根感到震惊。她为什么没有更加小心呢？ —

But she was soon in control of herself once more. —
但她很快又控制了自己。 —

What was done was done, and there was no point in antagonizing him. —
已经发生的事情，反抗也无济于事。 —

Call it fate, that he should have gone on thinking about Ukifune after that strange, fleeting encounter. —
说它是命运吧，他竟然在那次奇怪而短暂的相遇之后一直想着乌根。 —

No one was to blame.
没有人有错。

“Her mother is sending for her today. What do you intend to do? —
“她妈妈今天要来接她。你打算怎么办呢？ —

I know that some things have to be, and there is nothing anyone can do about them; —
我知道有些事情必须发生，任何人都无法改变； —

but you’ve really picked a very bad day. —
但你选了一个非常糟糕的日子。 —

Suppose you come again, if you still feel in the mood.”
如果你还有心情的话，可以考虑再来一次。”

An able woman, thought he. “No, I’ve been wandering around in a daze all these weeks. —
一个能干的女人，他想。“不，这几周我一直处于恍惚状态。 —

I haven’t cared what they might be saying about me. —
我并不在乎他们可能会对我说什么。 —

A man in my position doesn’t go sneaking off into the night, you know, if he’s still worried about appearances. —
一个像我这样的人，如果他仍然在担心形象，是不会在夜晚偷偷溜走的，你知道的。 —

Just tell her mother there’s been a very unfortunate defilement, and send them back again. —
只需告诉她母亲发生了非常不幸的玷污事件，然后再把她们送回去。 —

Don’t give them a hint that I’m here. For her sake and for mine. —
不要给她们任何关于我在这里的提示。 为了她的缘故也为了我的。 —

I don’t think that’s asking a great deal, and I won’t settle for less.”
我并不认为这是过分的要求，我不会接受更少。

He did seem so infatuated with the girl that he no longer worried about the reproaches he might call down upon himself.
他似乎对那女孩如此迷恋，以至于不再担心自己可能招致的指责。

Ukon went out to a man who had been nervously seeking to get Niou on his way, and informed him of these new intentions. —
乌昆走向了一个一直紧张地试图让Yiou离开的男人，并告诉他这些新打算。 —

“Go tell him, please, that this will not do. He is behaving outrageously. —
“请告诉他，这样做不行。 他的行为太过分了。 —

I don’t care what he may be thinking, what your men are thinking is more important. —
我不在乎他可能在想什么，你们的人的想法更为重要。 —

Are you children, bringing him out into these wilds? —
你们是孩子吗，把他带到这些荒野中？ —

Country people can be unruly, you know, and they don’t always respect rank.”
乡下人可以很难以驾驭，你知道的，他们并不总是尊重地位。”

The secretary had to agree that things might be difficult.
秘书只得承认事情可能会有些困难。

“And which of you is Tokikata?” She passed on Niou’s orders.
“你们两个里面哪个是时雀？” 她传达了Yiou的命令。

“Oh, but of course,” laughed Tokikata. “Any excuse to get away from that tongue of yours. —
“哦，当然了，”时雀笑着说。“任何借口都可以让我摆脱你那张舌头。” —

But seriously: he seems very fond of her, and I intend to do what I can, even if it means, as you say, taking childish risks. —
但说真的: 他似乎对她很喜欢，我打算尽我所能，即使这意味着，正如你说的，要冒一些幼稚的风险。 —

Well, I’m off. They’ll soon be changing the guard.”
好了，我走了。他们很快就会换岗了。

Ukon was in a quandary. How was she to keep Niou’s presence a secret?
乌魂陷入了两难境地。她怎么能保守尼绪的秘密？

“The general seems to have had reasons for coming incognito,” she said when the others were up. —
“将军似乎是偷偷潜入这里有原因的，”当其他人都醒来时她说。 —

“Something rather awful happened to him along the way. —
“在路上他遇到了一些相当可怕的事情。 —

He’s having fresh clothes sent out tonight.”
今晚会送新衣服过来。”

“Mount Kohata is a dreadful place. That’s what happens when you go around without a decent guard. —
“甲田山是个可怕的地方。这就是你四处趴着没有像样的卫兵会发生的。” —

How really dreadful.”
多么可怕。

“Don’t shout about it, if you please. —
“请不要大声喧哗。 —

Give the servants a hint and they’ll guess everything.”
给仆人们些暗示，他们会全部猜到的。”

Ukon did not like it at all. She was not a natural liar. —
乌魂一点也不喜欢。她不是一个天生的说谎者。 —

And what would she find to say if a messenger were to come from Kaoru? —
如果从薰那里来了信使，她该怎么交代呢？ —

” Please,” she prayed, bowing in the direction of Hatsuse. —
“拜托了，”她向初瀬的方向鞠躬祈祷。 —

“Please let this day pass like all the others.”
“请让这一天像往常一样过去。”

Ukifune and her mother were to go on a pilgrimage to Ishiyama. —
羽衣和她的母亲要前往石山朝圣。 —

The women had been through all the necessary fasting and purification. —
妇女们已经经历了必要的禁食和净化。 —

For nothing, it now became apparent. How very unfortunate!
原来一切都明显了。多么不幸啊！

The sun had risen, the shutters were open. Ukon stayed near her mistress. —
太阳已经升起，百叶窗打开了。右近留在了她的主人身边。 —

Blinds were lowered to darken the main hall and bills posted announcing a retreat. —
百叶窗被拉下以让主厅变暗，贴着通知一个隐居的告示。 —

Should Ukifune’s mother ask to come in, Ukon would have to say that there had been forbidding dreams in the night. —
如果光凤的母亲来问，右近就得说昨晚梦到了不吉的事情。 —

She brought water to Niou and her mistress. —
她给仁王和她的主人端来水。 —

The morning ablutions were in no way out of the ordinary, but it seemed infinitely strange to him that this new girl should be waiting on him. —
早晨的梳洗并不算寻常，但他觉得很奇怪，因为这个新姑娘竟然在伺候他。 —

He invited her to wash first. Used to Kaoru’s quiet ways, she now found herself with a gentleman who proclaimed himself incapable of tolerating a moment’s separation. —
他请她先洗。习惯了薰的安静方式，她怎么会来到一个自诩无法做到分离的绅士身边？ —

This must be the sort of thing people meant when they spoke of love. —
这一定是人们所说的爱情吧。 —

But what if word of this new shift in her destinies — strangest of destinies — were to get abroad? —
但如果她奇特命运中的这个新变化传出去了呢？这实在是太奇怪了。 —

What, before anything, of Nakanokimi?
那么，中君呢？

He still did not know who she was. “You are being very unkind, and I can tell you that I am not at all happy. —
他还不知道她是谁。“你对我这样不友好，我可以告诉你，我一点也不开心。 —

Tell me everything, everything. There’s no need to be shy. —
告诉我一切，一切。不要害羞。 —

I’ll only like you better, I vow it, whatever you tell me. —
我发誓，不管你告诉我什么，我都会更喜欢你。 —

Tell me your family doesn’t amount to a thing, and I’ll still like you better.”
告诉我你的家族一无是处，我仍然会更喜欢你。”

She remained silent despite his importunings, but on other subjects she answered with a pleasing openness. —
尽管他的纠缠，她保持了沉默，但对其他话题却毫不隐瞒地回答。 —

He was delighted to see that she was not ill disposed toward him.
他很高兴看到她对他没有恶意。

The sun was high when a retinue from the city — two carriages, seven or eight mounted warriors, rough East Country people, as always, and numbers of foot soldiers as well — arrived to escort her back. —
当一队随从从城市出发 — 两辆马车，七八名骑士，总是粗鲁的东国人，还有许多步兵 — 来接她回去时，太阳已经升得很高了。 —

Embarrassed at their uncouth speech and manners, the women of the house shooed them out of earshot. —
在他们粗鲁的言谈举止下尴尬起来，房里的女人们将他们赶到听不见的地方。 —

What could she possibly say to them? Ukon was asking herself. That Kaoru was on the premises? —
她到底能对他们说什么呢？乌倶正确自问着。说薰在这里？ —

But the lie would be transparent. Everyone knew the whereabouts of someone so prominent.
但谎言显而易见。每个人都知道像薰这样显赫的人的行踪。

Confiding in none of the other women, she got off a letter to the girl’s mother: —
她没有向其他女人透露，给那个女孩的母亲写了封信： —

“Night before last her monthly defilement came on, and, to compound her unhappiness at having to cancel the pilgrimage, she had a bad dream last night. —
“前天晚上她来了月经，为了取消朝圣之行感到不快，并且昨晚做了一个噩梦。 —

Complete retirement has seemed necessary. —
完全隐退似乎是必要的。 —

We are very sorry indeed — no doubt some evil spirit has been at work.”
我们确实非常遗憾 — 毫无疑问有些邪恶的精灵在作祟。”

She fed the guards and sent them on their way, and, again offering the monthly defilement as her excuse, informed the nun that they would not after all be going to Ishiyama.
她款待了卫兵，并让他们继续前行，再次以月经为由，通知尼姑她们最终不会去石山了。

Ukifune had been living in unrelieved gloom and boredom, such as to make her wonder, looking moodily out into the mist that clung to the mountains, how she could go on; —
乌之船一直生活在无尽的忧愁和乏味中，让她在凝望山间弥漫的薄雾时感到困惑； —

but today she had interesting company, and begrudged the passage of each moment. —
但今天她有了有趣的伴侣，每一刻都被眷恋。 —

The day sped by, a calm spring day. There was nothing to distract Niou from present delights. —
一天过得很快，一个宁静的春日。没有什么能让新王分心，使他无法享受眼前的快乐。 —

Her face, at which he gazed and did not tire, was pretty and gentle, and free of anything that could be counted a blemish. —
她的脸，他凝视而不腻的脸，漂亮而温和，没有任何可以算作瑕疵的东西。 —

She was not, to be sure, the equal of his princess at Nijō, nor was she to be compared to his lady at Rokujō, now in the finest glow of youth. —
她当然不及他在二条的公主，也无法与在六条那位正值风华绝代的贵夫人相提并论。 —

But there did come these occasions when the moment seemed sufficient unto itself, and he thought her the most charming creature he had ever seen. —
但也有那样的时刻，此刻似乎足以让他觉得她是他见过最迷人的人物。 —

She, for her part, had thought Kaoru the handsomest of men, but here was a luster, a glow, with which he could not compete.
她则认为薰是最英俊的男子，但他那种光辉，他那种灿烂，她无以为继。

Niou sent for an inkstone. He wrote beautifully, even though for his own amusement, and he drew interesting pictures. —
匿逊派人取来砚台。他写字相当漂亮，即便只是为了自娱自乐，他还画了些有趣的图画。 —

What young person could have resisted him?
哪个年轻人能抵挡他呢？

“You must look at this and think of me when I am not able to visit you. —
“你不在时，你一定要看这个，想着我。” —

” He sketched a most handsome couple leaning towards each other. —
他画了一对最英俊的情侣彼此倾心的样子。 —

“If only we could be together always.” And he shed a tear.
“唯愿我们能永远在一起。”他流下了眼泪。

“The promise is made for all the ages to come,
“承诺延续至来世，

But in these our lives we cannot be sure of the morrow.
但我们生命之中，未来并不肯定。

“No. I am inviting bad luck. I must control myself. —
“不，我这是招惹厄运。我必须控制自己。 —

It will not be easy to visit you, my dear, and the thought of not seeing you makes me want to die. —
要想见到你并非易事，亲爱的，一想到未能见你，我宁愿死去。 —

Why do you suppose I have gone to all this trouble when you were not at all kind to me the last time we met?”
你想为何这番苦心，当初我们相见时你并不友善？”

She took up the brush, still inked, and jotted down a poem of her own:
她拿起了尚未干的毛笔，写下了一首自己的诗：

“Were life alone uncertain of the morrow,
“若人生只是未来不定，

Then might we count upon the heart of a man.”
那么我们是否可以依靠一个人的心。

It amused him that she should be reproving him for future infidelities. —
他觉得有趣的是她竟然在责备他将来的不忠。 —

“And whose heart is it that you have found so undependable? —
“你找到那个如此靠不住的心是谁的呢？ —

” He smiled, and pressed her to tell of her arrival at Uji and of the days that had followed.
他微笑着，迫不及待地想听她讲述她在宇治的到达以及随后的日子。

“Why must you keep asking questions that I cannot answer? —
“为什么你总问我回答不了的问题呢？ —

” There was an open, childlike quality about the reproach that he found enchanting. —
在那句责备里有一种坦率、孩子般的品质，让他觉得迷人。 —

He knew that the whole story would presently come out. —
他知道整个故事很快会被揭露。 —

Why then must he have it from her lips?
那么为什么他非要从她嘴里听到呢？

Tokikata returned in the evening. “There was a message from Her Majesty,” he said to Ukon. “She is very angry, and so is the minister. —
向日香傍晚回来了。“有一条皇后的消息，”他对宇今说。“她很生气，大臣也是。 —

These secret expeditions of his suggest very bad judgment, she said, and could have embarrassing consequences. —
他的这些秘密远征表明了非常糟糕的判断，她说，可能会带来尴尬的后果。 —

And she said — it was quite a scolding — that her own position would be impossible if His Majesty were to hear of them. —
她还说 — 这几乎是一场责骂 — 如果陛下听说了的话，她自己的处境将会很尴尬。 —

I said he had gone off to visit a learned, learned man in the eastern hills.” And he added: —
我说他去东山拜访一个博学的人。”他补充道： —

“Women are the root of it all. Here we are, the merest bystanders, and we get pulled in, and end up telling lies.”
“都是女人惹的祸。我们只是旁观者，却被卷进去，最终还要说谎。

“How kind of you to make my lady a learned, learned man. —
“你如此善意地让我的夫人成为一个博学的人。 —

A good deed, surely, that wipes out whatever may have been marked against you for lying. —
一定是一个善行，可以抹去你因说谎而可能被记恶的一切。 —

But where did he pick up his bad habits? —
但他是从哪里养成了这些坏习惯呢？ —

If he had let us know in advance, well, he is a very well-placed young gentleman, and we could have arranged something. —
如果他提前告诉我们，作为一个身居要职的年轻绅士，我们本可以安排些什么的。 —

But she is right. He shows bad judgment.”
但她说得对。他表现出了糟糕的判断力。

She went to transmit Tokikata’s report. True, thought Niou: they would be worried. —
她去传达时樱园的报告。纽想到了：他们一定很担心。 —

“It is no fun,” he said to Ukifune,” living in shackles. —
“生活在镣铐下一点都不好玩。”他对憂和音说。 —

I wish I could run about like all the others, just for a little while. But what do you think? —
我希望我也能像其他人那样奔跑一会儿。你觉得呢？ —

People will find out, whatever we do. And how will my friend Kaoru take it? —
无论我们做什么，人们都会发现。我朋友薰会如何面对呢？ —

We have been close friends. That is only natural. —
我们一直是亲密的朋友，这是理所当然的。 —

But actually we have been closer than close, and I hate to think what the discovery will do to him. —
事实上，我们比亲密的朋友更近，我不想去想这种发现会对他有何影响。 —

As they say, he may forget that he has kept you waiting and blame you for everything. —
他可能忘记自己让你等待了，并责备你一切。 —

I wish I could hide you somewhere from the whole world.”
我多想把你藏起来，远离这个世界。

He could not possibly stay another day. “My soul,” he whispered as he made ready to go, “does it linger on in your sleeve?”
他不可能再待一天。“我的灵魂，”他 s悄声说道，准备告别，“是否留在了你的袖中？”

Wishing to be back in the city before daylight, his men were coughing nervously. —
渴望在天亮前回到城市，他的人们紧张地咳嗽着。 —

She saw him to the door, and still he could not leave her.
她送他到门口，他仍然无法离开她。

“What shall I do? These tears run on ahead
“我该怎么办？这些眼泪已经流得比我更快。

And plunge the road I must go into utter darkness.”
而且我必须沉入一条通向绝望黑暗的路。

She was touched.
她被感动了。

“So narrow my sleeves, they cannot take my tears.
“我的袖子太窄了，装不下我的眼泪。

How then shall I make bold to keep you with me?”
那我怎么能大胆地让你和我在一起呢？”

A high wind roared through the trees and the dawn was heavy with frost. —
一阵猛烈的风呼啸着穿过树林，黎明带着冰霜的寒意。 —

Even the touch of their robes, in the moment of parting, seemed co1d. —
甚至在分别时他们的袍袖触碰在一起，似乎也同样冰冷。 —

He was smitten afresh as he mounted his horse, and turned back to her; —
他再次动了心，当他骑上马，转身回去找她； —

but his men were not prepared to wait longer. In a daze of longing, he at length set out. —
但他的手下不准备再等待更久。在渴望的迷雾中，最终他启程了。 —

The two courtiers of the Fifth Rank who had come with him led his horse through the mountains and mounted their own only when they had come to open country. —
从五品的两位侍臣领着他的马穿过山脉，在到达开阔的乡间才上马。 —

Everything, even the clattering of hoofs on the icy riverbank, brought melancholy thoughts. —
一切，甚至马蹄在结冰的河岸上的响动，都带来忧郁的思绪。 —

The pull of Uji and love, and that alone, now and in the old days, had the power to bring him through wild mountains. —
宇治和爱的潮水，只有这两者，现在和从前，有能力把他带过荒山。 —

What strange ties he did seem to have with that remote mountain village!
他似乎与那个遥远的山村有着怪异的联系！

Back at Nijō, he went to his own rooms, hoping to rest for a time. —
回到二条，他走进自己的房间，希望能休息一会儿。 —

He had another reason for wanting to be away from Nakanokimi: —
他希望远离中式子，还有另一个原因： —

he was still annoyed at her for having concealed the other girl’s whereabouts. —
他仍然因为她隐瞒了那个女孩的行踪而感到恼火。 —

But he could not sleep. He was lonely, and his thoughts were too much for him. —
但他无法入睡。他感到孤独，思绪纷飞。 —

Presently he gave up and went to her wing of the house. —
他最终放弃，走向她住所的一侧。 —

Innocent of what had happened, she was at her most beautiful. —
却浑然不知发生了什么事情，她此刻却是如此美丽。 —

She was more beautiful than the one who had made the night before such an unmixed delight. —
她比昨夜给他带来无尽愉悦的那个人更加美丽。 —

The closeness of the resemblance brought back the full flood of his longing. —
相似之处让他对她的渴望再次涌现。 —

Pensively, he went into her boudoir and lay down. She followed.
他沉思着走进她的亭子房，躺了下来。她跟进来。

“I am not feeling well. I wonder if it might be something serious. —
“我感觉不舒服。不知道是不是有什么严重的问题。” —

I have been fond of you, and I am sure that if I were to disappear you would find a replacement in no time. —
“我一直很喜欢你，我确信如果我消失了，你会很快找到替代品的。” —

He will win out in the end, I am sure.”
“最终他会成功的，我相信。”

What a terrible thing to say — and he was not joking. —
“说这种可怕的话真是太过分了——他可不是开玩笑。” —

“How do you suppose he will feel if he hears of these snide insinuations?” She turned away. —
“你想象一下，如果他听到这些讽刺的暗示会有什么感受？”她转身离去。 —

“I have worries enough without having to defend myself against completely groundless charges.”
“我已经有足够多的担忧，不想被迫捍卫自己反对毫无根据的指控。”

He looked at her solemnly. “And how will you feel if you find that I am really angry with you? —
他庄重地看着她。“如果你发现我真的对你生气，你会怎么感觉？” —

I have done rather a great deal for you, I think. There are those who say I have done too much. —
“我为你做了相当多的事情，我想。有人说我做得过多。” —

You obviously rank me several grades below him. Well, that I can accept as fate. —
“显然你把我排在他的几个等级之下。好吧，我会接受这个命运。” —

But it hurts me that you should seem so bent on keeping secrets from me.”
但是我很伤心，你似乎如此执意不让我知道你的秘密。

All the while he was marveling upon the forces of destiny that had made him seek the girl out. —
此时此刻，他对命运的力量感到惊叹，这力量让他去寻找那个女孩。 —

Tears came to his eyes. Moved to pity, Nakanokimi wondered what sort of rumors he could have picked up. —
泪水涌现在他的眼中。被怜悯之情所感动，中边·庆喜纳想知道他可能听到了什么样的谣言。 —

She fell silent. His first visit to her had been the merest prank, and he could not have come away with any high regard for her determination to guard her honor. —
她沉默了。他对她的首次拜访只是一个玩笑，他不可能对她为保卫自己的荣誉而坚定不移视而不见产生高度评价。 —

The mistake had been in admitting and indeed in feeling grateful for the services of a gentleman who, though without close ties to the Uji family, had chosen to act as intermediary. —
错误在于承认，而且还感激一个没有与宇治家有密切联系的绅士选择充当中间人。 —

It was because of the initial mistake that she must put up with these insults. —
正因为最初的错误，她必须忍受这些侮辱。 —

She presented a charming and pathetic figure as she lay sunk in her worries. —
她沉浸在忧虑中，呈现出一副迷人而可怜的形象。 —

Not wanting her to know for a time that he had found Ukifune, he sought to make her think he had good reasons for berating her. —
他并不希望她一时知道他找到了浮舟，他试图让她认为他责备她有充分的理由。 —

She concluded that her apparent flirtation with Kaoru lay at the heart of the matter. —
她总结认为她与薰的明显调情是问题的核心。 —

Someone had been talking. Unable to guess what exactly he might be charging her with, she wanted to run and hide.
有人在说话。她猜不透他到底在指控她什么，她想要逃跑藏起来。

An unexpected letter came from the empress. —
妃后来了一封意外的信。 —

Careful to go on looking displeased, Niou withdrew to his own rooms. It said in part: —
小心翼翼地保持着一副不悦的样子，仁王回到自己的房间。信中写道： —

“His Majesty was much upset at your absence yesterday. —
“虽然陛下昨天对你的不在场感到很沮丧。 —

Unless you are indisposed, please do come today. —
除非你有不适，今天请务必来一下。 —

It has been rather a long time since I last saw you myself.”
我自上次见到你已经有一段时间了。”

He was sorry to discommode his parents, but he really was not feeling well. He did not go to court. —
他很抱歉给父母添麻烦，但他真的感觉不舒服。他没有去法庭。 —

Large numbers of high-ranking courtiers came by but he stayed behind blinds the whole day. —
大量高级朝臣前来拜访，但他整天都呆在帘子后面。 —

In the evening Kaoru called. Asking that he be shown in, Niou received him in dishabille.
晚上，薰前来拜访。薛迎接他时仍穿着休闲服。

“Her Majesty was terribly alarmed when she heard that you had not been well. —
“当她听说你不舒服时，她非常担心。” —

What might the trouble be?”
问题可能出在哪里？”

The sight of him made Niou’s breath come more rapidly. —
看到他，薛的呼吸加快了。 —

Here I am in the presence of our resident saint, he was thinking; —
想着自己竟然在我们的圣人面前； —

but he smells a little of the vagrant saint, I fear. —
但是他闻起来有点像流浪圣人，我担心。 —

Such a sweet girl, and he keeps her off in the mountains all for himself, and leaves her waiting week after week. —
这样一个可爱的女孩，他却让她独自在山里等待，一周又一周。 —

Niou thought his friend sanctimonious, giving assurances of his sincerity when nothing in the conversation seemed to call for them. —
薛觉得他的朋友很假，明明谈话中没有任何事情需要保证诚意，他为什么要这么做。 —

Always assiduous in his search for openings, was he not to take delicious advantage of this new secret? —
一贯勤奋寻找机会的他，难道不该好好利用这个新的秘密吗？ —

But sarcasm did not fit his mood. He wished that Kaoru would go away.
但讥讽不符合他此刻的心情。他希望薰早点离开。

“This will not do,” said Kaoru most solicitously as he got up to leave. —
“这可不行，”薰表示关心地起身离开。 —

“You may think it is nothing at all, but when these little complaints refuse to clear up after a few days they can be dangerous. —
“你可能觉得这没什么，但当这些小毛病几天都不消失时，可能会有危险。 —

You must take care of yourself.”
你一定要照顾好自己。”

The man had a remarkable way of making one feel defeated, thought Niou. And how would the girl at Uji be rating them against each other, Kaoru and himself? —
尼尾想，那个男人有一种让人感到很挫败的方式。宇治的女孩会如何评价他们两个，薰和他自己呢？ —

So each passing incident brought her back — not that she was ever far away.
所以每一起事件都让她回想起——虽然她从未离开。

At Uji the days went by in dull procession, now that the trip to Ishiyama no longer offered relief. —
在宇治，日子默默无闻地过去了，现在去石山的旅行已经不再带来缓解。 —

Niou wrote at almost tedious length of his impatience and frustration. —
尼尾深感焦躁和沮丧，写下了几乎令人厌烦的文字。 —

Knowing that he could not be too careful, he chose for his messenger a man of Tokikata’s who knew little of the situation at Uji. The man always went to Ukon.
他深知自己不能太过小心，选择了藤片的一个对于宇昆事情知之甚少的人做使者。这个人经常去找宇昆。

“We were very fond of each other, once upon a time,” said Ukon to her fellows. —
“我们曾经非常喜欢对方，”宇昆对她的同伴们说。 —

“He discovered me here when he came with the general, and now he wants to be friends again. —
“他跟将军一起来的时候在这里发现了我，现在他又想和我做朋友。” —

” She had become adept at lying.
她已经变得善于说谎。

The First Month passed. A trip to Uji was for Niou almost an impossibility, however restless he might be. —
第一个月过去了。尽管他的焦躁不安，尼尾几乎不可能去宇治。 —

He was sure that this new obsession was taking years from his life; —
他确信这种新的困扰正在夺走他的岁月； —

and so there came thoughts of death to intensify the gloom.
于是死亡的念头加重了阴郁。

Kaoru, meanwhile, having a brief respite from his duties, set off in his usual quiet way for Uji. He went first to pay his respects and offer a prayer at the monastery. —
而同时，薰得到了从繁忙中短暂的喘息，以他平常的安静方式动身前往宇治。他首先去寺庙致敬并祷告。 —

In the evening, after distributing gifts to the monks whom he had put to invoking the holy name, he went on to the Uji villa. —
在晚上，分发礼物给那些他让他们念佛的僧侣后，他前往宇治别墅。 —

Though incognito might have been appropriate, he had made no attempt to hide his rank. —
虽然隐瞒身份或许更合适，但他没有试图隐藏自己的地位。 —

In informal but careful court dress, he was the embodiment of calm nobility. —
身着非正式但慎重的宫廷服装，他是平静阶贵族的化身。 —

How could she possibly receive him? thought Ukifune, in near panic. —
乌基舍开始陷入近乎恐慌状态，她究竟怎么能够接受他呢？ —

The very skies seemed to reproach her. The dashing figure of his rival came back to her. —
看起来连天空都在责备她。他的对手的英俊身影又浮现在她脑海中。 —

Could she see him again? Niou had said that she had every chance of driving all his other ladies away and capturing his affections for herself alone. —
她是否会再见到他呢？牛殿曾说她完全有可能把他的其他女宠都赶走，独占他的宠爱。 —

She had heard that he was ill and had sharply curtailed his affairs, and that his house echoed with services for his recovery. —
她听说他病了，大大减少了外事，家中也洋溢着为他康复服务的气氛。 —

How hurt he would be when he learned of this visit! Kaoru was very different. —
当他得知这次拜访时一定会有多受伤啊！薰可真是与众不同。 —

He had an air as of unsounded depths and a quiet, meditative dignity. —
他透露出一种未被探索的深度和一种安详沉思的尊严。 —

He used few words as he apologized for his remissness and he said almost nothing that suggested loneliness and deprivation. —
道歉时他简洁而用词慎密，几乎没有透露出孤独和失落的迹象。 —

Yet he did say, choosing his words most carefully, that he had wanted to see her, and his controlled earnestness moved her more than any number of passionate avowals could have. —
然而，他却表示，挑选措辞时非常认真地说，他一直想见她，他坚守的认真让她感动，胜过任何激烈的表白。 —

He was very handsome; but that aside, she was sure that he would be a more reliable support, over long years, than Niou. It would be a great loss if he were to catch word of the strange turn her affections had taken. —
他非常英俊；但除此之外，她确信他会是一个比牛殿更可信赖的依靠，经年累月都如此。如果他听到她的情感走向了奇怪的境地，会是一大损失。 —

Niou’s improbable behavior had left its mark, and she had to thank him for it; —
牛殿荒唐的行为留下了印记，她不得不感谢他。 —

but he was altogether too impetuous. She could expect nothing of an enduring nature from him. —
但他实在太冲动了。她对他没法期待持久的关系。 —

She would be very sad indeed if Kaoru were to fling her away in anger.
如果薰因愤怒而将她推开，她将会非常伤心。

She was a sad little figure, lost in the turmoil of her thoughts. —
她是一个可怜的小身影，陷入了思绪的漩涡之中。 —

She had matured, acquired new composure, over the months. —
几个月来，她已经变得更加成熟，更加沉稳。 —

No doubt, in the boredom of country life, she had had time for meditation.
毫无疑问，在乡下平淡的生活中，她有了时间深思。

“The house I am building is almost finished. —
我正在建造的房子已经快完成了。 —

” His tone was more intimate and affectionate than usual. “I went to see it the other day. —
他的语气比平时更亲密和深情。“前几天我去看了它。” —

The waters are gentle, as different as they can be from this wild river, and the garden has all the flowers of the city. —
这里水流平缓，与这条狂暴的河完全不同，而花园中开满了城市里所有的花。 —

It is very near my Sanjō place. Nothing need keep us from seeing each other every day. —
它离我的三条邸非常近。没有什么能阻止我们每天见面。 —

I’d like to move you there in the spring, I think, if you don’t mind.”
我想在春天时把你搬到那里，如果你不介意的话。

Niou could scarcely have known of his friend’s plans when, in a letter the day before, he had spoken of finding a quiet place for her. —
彼岸岂有知晓朋友的计划？前一天的信中，他已提及为她寻找一个宁静的地方。 —

She was very sorry, but she should not yield further, she knew, to his advances. —
她很抱歉，但她知道自己不能再对他的倾慕屈服。 —

And yet his image did keep floating before her eyes. —
然而他的形象却在她眼前浮现。 —

What a wretched predicament to be in!
身处这困境真是痛苦！

“Life was much easier and much pleasanter,” said Kaoru, “back in the days when you were not quite so given to tears. —
俊郎说：“以前你不那么爱哭的时候，生活要容易得多、愉快得多。” —

Has someone been talking about me? Would a person in my position come over such a long and difficult road if he had less than the best intentions?”
有人说了我吗？如果心存不轨，一个身份尊贵的人会义无反顾地走这么长远困难的路吗？

He went to the veranda railing and sat gazing at the new moon. —
他去到阳台栏杆前，凝视新月。 —

They were both lost in thoughts, he of the past, of days and people now gone, she of the future and her growing troubles. —
他陷入对过去、已逝之日和人们的思念，而她则担忧着未来和渐增的困扰。 —

The scene was perfection: the hills were veiled in a mist, and crested herons had gathered at a point along the frozen strand. —
场景美不胜收：山丘笼罩在薄雾中，白鹭集聚在冰冷的岸边。 —

Far down the river, where the Uji bridge cut its dim arc, faggot-laden boats were weaving in and out. —
河水深处，宇治桥划出暗淡的弧线，载着柴捆的船只来来往往。 —

All the details peculiar to the place were brought together. —
将这个地方独有的细节都汇集在一起。 —

When he looked out upon the scene it was always as if events of old were fresh before his eyes. —
当他看着这一幕时，总是觉得往事历历在目。 —

Even had he been with someone for whom he cared nothing, the air of Uji would have brought on strange feelings of intimacy. —
即使他与某人在一起，他并不在乎，宇治的空气也会带来一种奇特的亲近感。 —

How much more so in the company of a not unworthy substitute for Oigimi. —
更何况和一个不失为才貌双全的代替物在一起。 —

Ukifune was gaining all the while in assurance and discernment, in her awareness of how city people behaved, and she was more beautiful each time he saw her. —
鸽舟越来越有自信和洞察力，懂得城市人的举止，每次他见到她时，她都更加美丽。 —

At a loss to console her, for it seemed that her tears were about to spill over, he offered a poem:
无法安慰她，因为她似乎快要哭出来，他为她写了一首诗:

“No need to grieve. The Uji bridge stands firm.
“不必悲伤。宇治桥根基坚固。

They too stand firm, the promises I have made you.
我对你所做的承诺也一样牢固。”

“I am sure that you know what I mean.”
“我相信你知道我是什么意思。”

She replied:
她回答道:

“The bridge has gaps, one crosses gingerly.
“桥上有缺口，人行其上要小心翼翼。

Can one be sure it will not rot away?”
谁能确信它不会腐烂？”

He found it more difficult than ever to leave her. —
他觉得比以往更难离开她。 —

But people talked, and he would have his fill of her company once he had moved her to the city. —
但人们议论纷纷，一旦他把她带到城里，他就能尽情享受她的陪伴。 —

He left at dawn. These evidences of improvement added to the sorrow of parting.
他在黎明时分离开。这些进步的迹象增加了离别的悲伤。

Toward the middle of the Second Month the court assembled to compose Chinese poety. —
第二个月中旬，宫廷聚集起来创作中文诗歌。 —

Both Niou and Kaoru were present. The music was appropriate to the season, and Niou was in fine voice as he sang “A Branch of Plum.” Yes, he was the most accomplished of them all, everyone said. —
尔和薰都在场。音乐与季节相称，尼欧唱着《梅枝》声音十分动听。是的，大家都说他是他们中最有才华的。 —

His one failing, not an easy one to forgive, was a tendency to lose himself in amorous dalliance of an unworthy sort.
他唯一的缺点，是一个不容易原谅的，就是倾向于陷入不值得的爱情游戏之中。

It began to snow and a wind had come up. The festivities were quickly halted and everyone withdrew to Niou’s rooms, where a light repast was served. —
外面开始下雪，风势加大。庆典迅速停止，每个人都撤到尼欧的房间里，享用了一顿轻便的餐点。 —

Kaoru was called out to receive a message. The snow, now deeper, was dimly lit by the stars. —
薰被叫出去接收一条消息。现在积雪更深，星星微光映照出来。 —

The fragrance which he sent back into the room made one think how uselessly “the spring night’s darkness” was laboring to blot it out.
他送回房间里的芳香，让人觉得“春夜的黑暗”竟然是多么无用地在努力试图消除它。

“Does she await me?” he said to himself, able somehow to infuse even such tiny, disjointed fragments of poetry with sudden life.
“她在等我吗？”他自言自语，竟然能够使那些微小且破碎的诗词瞬间变得生动起来。

Of all the poems he could have picked, thought Niou. His heart racing, he pretended to be asleep. —
尼欧心跳不已，假装睡着。他觉得他朋友选择的诗歌真是太不得了。 —

Clearly his friend’s feelings for Ukifune passed the ordinary. —
显然，他朋友对浮船的感情超出了普通范畴。 —

He had hoped that the lady at the bridge had spread her cloak for him alone, and it was sad and annoying that Kaoru should have similar hopes. —
他曾希望桥上的女子只为他敞开斗篷，但薰也抱有类似的希望，这让人感到悲伤和恼火。 —

Drawn to such a man, could the girl possibly shift her affections to a trifler like himself?
对这样一个人如此着迷，那姑娘会不会将她的感情转移到像他这样的轻浮男子身上呢？

The next day, with snow drifted high outside, the courtiers appeared in the imperial presence to read their poems. —
第二天，外面积雪深厚，朝臣们出现在皇帝面前读诗。 —

Niou was very handsome, indeed at his youthful best. —
尼欧非常英俊，确实展现出他青年时最好的一面。 —

Kaoru, perhaps because he was two or three years o1der, seemed the calmer and more mature of the two, the model of the personable, cultivated young aristocrat. —
薰可能因为比他大两三岁，看起来更加沉稳成熟，是那种风度翩翩、有教养的年轻贵族的典范。 —

Everyone agreed that the emperor could not have found a better son-in-law. —
大家都同意皇帝找不到比他更好的女婿了。 —

He had unusual literary abilities and a good head for practical matters as well. —
他具备不同寻常的文学才华，同时也头脑冷静，善于处理实际问题。 —

Their poems read, the courtiers withdrew. —
他们的诗篇读完后，宫廷的侍臣们都退了出去。 —

The assembly was loud in proclaiming the superiority of Niou’s, but he was not pleased. —
大会一片哗然地宣扬Niou的卓越，但他并不高兴。 —

How easygoing they were, he said to himself, how fortunate to have room in their heads for such trivia.
他心里暗自想道，他们多么随和，多么幸运，竟有空间在大脑里储存这样的琐事。

Some days later, unsettled still at Kaoru’s behavior that snowy evening, Niou made elaborate excuses and set out for Uji. In the capital only traces of snow remained, as if awaiting a companion, but in the moun- tains the drifts were gradually deeper. —
几天后，仍为Kaoru那个雪夜的行为感到不安，Niou编造了各种借口，启程前往宇治。在京中，只剩下零星的积雪，仿佛在等待同伴，而在山上，积雪逐渐加深。 —

The road was even more difficult than he had remembered it. —
这条路比他记忆中的还要艰难。 —

His men were near tears from apprehension and fatigue. —
他的手下们几乎要因恐惧和疲劳而哭泣了。 —

The secretary who had been his guide to Uji was also vice-minister of rites. —
领他前往宇治的秘书同时也是礼部侍郎。 —

Both positions carried heavy responsibilities, and it was ridiculous to see him hitching up his trousers like any ordinary foot soldier.
这两个职位责任重大，看到他像普通步兵一样提起裤腿，真是荒谬。

The people at Uji had been warned, but were sure that he would not brave the snow. —
宇治的人们早有预警，但他们确信他不会冒着雪天前来。 —

Then, late in the night, word was brought in to Ukon of his arrival. —
深夜，消息传到宇石那里，说他已到达。 —

So he really was fond of her, thought Ukifune. Ukon’s worries — how would it all end? —
Ukifune想道，他真的喜欢她。宇石的忧虑——这一切会以怎样的结局告终？——至少在这一晚消散了。 —

she had been asking herself — dropped away, at least for the night. —
她自问，这一切又会如何发展——Ukifune的独家最爱，这件事终于有了个了断。 —

There was no way of turning him back, and she concluded that someone else must now be made a partner in the conspiracy. —
没有办法让他回头，她得出结论，现在必须让另一个人加入此阴谋。 —

She chose the woman Jijū, who was another of Ukifune’s special favorites, and who could be trusted not to talk.
她选择了姬寿这个女人，她也是Ukifune的特别宠爱之人，而且可信赖不会泄露。

“It is most improper, I know,” said Ukon, “but we must stand together and keep it from the others.”
“我知道这样做是非常不合适的，”右近说道，“但我们必须团结一致，不让其他人知道。”

They led him inside. The perfume from his wet robes, flooding into the deepest corners of the hall, could have been troublesome; —
他们领他进去。他湿漉的衣袍传来的香气，如潮水般涌入大厅最深处，可能会惹麻烦； —

but they told everyone, convincingly enough, that their visitor was Kaoru. To go back before dawn would be worse than not to have come at all; —
但他们巧妙地告诉所有人，他们的客人是薰。在黎明前返回将比不来得还糟； —

yet someone was certain to spy him out in the morning light. —
然而在清晨的阳光中，肯定会有人发现他。 —

He had therefore asked Tokikata to have a certain house beyond the river made ready. —
因此他要求时方准备好城河对岸的一所房子。 —

Tokikata, who had gone on ahead to see to the arrangements, returned late in the night and reported that everything was in the best of order. —
提前去安排事宜的时方在深夜回来，报告一切准备就绪。 —

Ukon too was wondering how he meant to keep the escapade a secret. —
右近也在想着他该如何保守这次冒险的秘密。 —

She had been awakened from deep slumber and she was trembling like a child lost in the snow.
她从沉睡中惊醒，像是一名迷失在雪中的孩子。

Without a word, he took Ukifune up in his arms and carried her off. —
他默不作声，将滑船抱起，把她带走。 —

Jijū followed after and Ukon was left to watch the house. —
侍从在后面跟着，右近留下看守房子。 —

Soon they were aboard one of the boats that had seemed so fragile out on the river. —
很快他们就登上了在河上看起来那么脆弱的一只船。 —

As they rowed into the stream, she clung to Niou, frightened as an exile to some hopelessly distant shore. —
当他们划进水流时，她紧紧抱着仁王，像一个被流放到绝望遥远岸边的人一样害怕。 —

He was delighted. The moon in the early-morning sky shone cloudless upon the waters. —
他高兴极了。清晨天空中的月亮无云地照耀在水面上。 —

They were at the Islet of the Oranges said the boatman, pulling up at a large rock over which ever-greens trailed long branches.
船夫说他们到了橘子岛，停靠在一块巨石旁，绿色常青树枝垂下长长的枝条。

“See,” said Niou, “they are fragile pines, no more, but their green is so rich and deep that it lasts a thousand years.
“看，”仁王说，“它们是脆弱的松树，不过只是，但它们的绿色如此浓郁深沉，可以持续千年。”

“A thousand years may pass, it will not waver,
“千年如一日，誓愿不移，”

This vow I make in the lee of the Islet of Oranges.”
“在橘子岛的背风处，我立下这个誓言。”

What a very strange place to be, thought the girl.
女孩心想，这真是个奇怪的地方。

“The colors remain, here on the Islet of Oranges.
“色彩仍在，就在橘子岛，

But where go I, a boat upon the waters?”
但我到底要去哪里，一叶扁舟在水面上？”

The time was right, and so was the girl, and so was her poem: —
时机成熟，女孩也很合适，正如她的诗： —

for him, at least, things could not have been more pleasingly arranged.
对他来说，事情无法更理想地安排了。

They reached the far bank of the river. An attendant helped him ashore, the girl still in his arms. —
他们到达了河对岸。一个服务生帮助他上岸，女孩仍然在他怀里。 —

No one else was to touch her, he insisted.
他坚持没有其他人可以碰她。

The custodian of the house was wondering what sort of woman could have produced such an uncourtly uproar. —
屋子的管理员正纳闷着究竟是什么样的女人能引起如此不体面的喧哗。 —

It was a temporary house, rough and unfinished, which Tokikata’s uncle, the governor of Inaba, had put up on one of his manors. —
这是一座暂设的房屋，粗糙而未完工，是时任因幡的知县的叔叔所建。 —

Crude plaited screens such as Niou had not seen before offered almost no resistance to the wind. —
朴素的编织屏风，如Niou以前从未见过的，几乎无法抵挡风。 —

There were patches of snow at the fence, clouds had come up, bringing new flurries of snow, and icicles glistened at the eaves. —
栅栏上有一些雪花，云层涌上来，带来新一轮的飘雪，屋檐上的冰柱闪闪发光。 —

In the daylight the girl seemed even prettier than by candlelight. —
在白天，女孩甚至比在烛光下更漂亮。 —

Niou was dressed simply, against the rigors of the journey. —
Niou打扮简朴，应付旅途的严寒。 —

A fragile little figure sat huddled before him, for he had slipped off her outer robe. —
一个脆弱的小身影蜷缩在他面前，因为她脱掉了外套。 —

And so here she was, she said to herself, not even properly dressed, before a royal prince. —
她对自己说，这样一来，她甚至没有得体地穿衣服，就站在一个皇家王子面前。 —

There was nothing, nothing at all, to protect her from his gaze. —
没有什么，绝对没有任何东西，可以保护她免受他的凝视。 —

She was wearing five or six white singlets, somewhat rumpled, soft and lustrous to the hems of the sleeves and skirts, more pleasing, he thought, than any number of colors piled one upon another. —
她穿着五六件白色背心，有点皱巴巴但又柔软发亮，直到袖口和裙摆，比一堆颜色堆叠在一起更讨人喜欢，他心想。 —

He seldom saw women with whom he kept constant company in quite such informal dress. He was enchanted.
他很少见到他经常交往的女人穿得这么随意。他被迷住了。

And so Jijū too (a pretty young woman) was witness to the scene. Who might she be? —
这样， Jijū 也（一个漂亮的年轻女人）目睹了这一幕。她会是谁呢？ —

Niou had asked when he saw her climbing uninvited into the boat. She must not be told his name. —
Niou 看到她未经邀请登上船舷时问道。不能告诉她我的名字。 —

Jijū, for her part, was dazzled. She had not been in the company of such a fine gentleman before.
反倒是 Jijū 目眩神迷。她以前没有过如此优雅的绅士为伴。

The custodian made a great fuss over Tokikata, thinking him to be the leader of the party. —
看管人对着 Tokikata 大惊小怪，以为他是这帮人的领导者。 —

Tokikata, who had appropriated the next room for himself, was in good form. —
Tokikata 将隔壁的房间据为己有，表现得很不错。 —

He made an amusing game of evading the questions the custodian kept putting in reverent tones.
他很幽默地回避看管人用虔敬的口吻提出的问题，将其当成了一场有趣的游戏。

“There have been bad omens, very bad, and I must stay away from the city for a while. —
“出现了不祥的征兆，非常不祥，我必须离开城市一段时间。没人能见到我。” —

No one is to see me.”
因此 Niou 和 Ukifune 愉快地度过了几个小时，不怕被人发现。

And so Niou and Ukifune passed pleasant hours with no fear of being observed. —
Niou 再次陷入嫉妒的困境，毫无疑问，他认为她在见到薰时也同样友善。他透露，薰娶了皇帝的女儿为妻，并且非常忠诚于她。 —

No doubt, thought Niou, once more in the clutches of jealousy, she was equally amiable when she received Kaoru. He let it be known that Kaoru had taken the emperor’s own daughter for his bride and seemed devoted to her. —
也许，Niou 想，再次被嫉妒所困扰，当薰去见她时，她同样和蔼可亲。他散布谣言说薰娶了皇帝的女儿，并对她忠实无比。 —

He declined (let us say out of charity) to mention the snatch of poetry he had overheard that snowy evening.
他拒绝（让我们说是出于慈善）提及他在那个雪夜听到的诗句。

“You seem to be cock of the walk,” he said when Tokikata came with towels and refreshments. —
“你似乎很得意,” 当時来送毛巾和点心的时候，他这样说道。 —

” But keep out of sight while you’re about it. —
“但在行动中要保持低调。 —

Someone might want to imitate you.”
有人可能会想模仿你。”

Jijū, a susceptible young lady, was having such a good time. She spent the whole day with Tokikata.
Jijū, 一个易受感情影响的年轻女士，玩得很尽兴。她整天都和Tokikata在一起。

Looking towards the city over the drifting snow, Niou saw forests emerging from and sinking back into the clouds. —
朝着城市方向看，看着白雪飘飘，Niou看到森林在云端浮现和消失。 —

The mountain above caught the evening glow as in a minor. —
汉城之上的山峰映射着晚霞，犹如一首小调。 —

He described, with some embroidering, the horror of last night’s journey. —
他描绘着，夸大着，昨晚旅程的恐怖。 —

A crude rustic inkstone having been brought to him, he set down a poem as if in practice:
一块粗糙的乡村砚台被带到他面前，他仿佛在练习中写下一首诗：

“I pushed through snowy peaks, past icy shores,
“我穿越过雪峰，经过冰河岸，

Dauntless all the way — O daunting one!
敢做到底 — 啊! 激励者!

“It is true, of course, that I had a horse at Kohata.”
“当然，我在小畑有匹马。”

In her answering poem she ventured an objection:
在她的回诗中，她提出了一个异议：

“The snow that blows to the shore remains there, frozen.
“吹到岸边的雪留在那里，冻结。

Yet worse my fate: I am caught, dissolve in midair.”
而我命运更坏: 被困，融化在半空中。”

This image of fading in midair rather annoyed him. —
这种在半空中消逝的形象让他感到相当恼火。 —

Yes, she was being difficult, she had to agree, tearing the paper to bits. —
是的，她承认，她确实有些困难，把纸撕得粉碎。 —

He was always charming, and he was quite irresistible when he was trying to please.
他总是很迷人，当他试图取悦的时候，他简直是无法抗拒的。

He had said that he would be in retreat for two days. —
他说他会闭关两天。 —

Each unhurried hour seemed to bring new intimacy. —
每个悠然的小时似乎都带来了新的亲密。 —

The clever Ukon contrived pretexts for sending over fresh clothes. —
聪明的右近找借口送来新衣服。 —

Jijū smoothed her mistress’s hair and helped her into a robe of deep purple and a cloak of figured magenta lined also with magenta — an unexceptionable combination. —
侍女理顺主人的头发，帮她穿上一件深紫色的长袍，外面披着一个花纹马杜拉的深洋红色披风 — 一个毫无懈可击的搭配。 —

Taking up Jijū‘s apron, he had Ukifune try it on as she ladled water for him. —
他拿起右近的围裙，让憂丽佩戴它，当她淘水给他打水。 —

Yes, his sister the First Princess would be very pleased to take such a girl into her service. —
是的，他的姐姐第一王女会很高兴接纳这样一个女孩为她的侍女。 —

Her ladies-in-waiting were numerous and wellborn, but he could think of none among them capable of putting the girl to shame.
她的侍女们众多且出身名门，但他想不出哪一个能让那个女孩感到羞耻。

But let us not look in too closely upon their dalliance.
但我们不要太过近观他们的逍遥。

He told her again and again how he wanted to hide her away, and he tried to extract unreasonable promises from her. —
他一遍又一遍地告诉她他想把她藏起来，并试图从她这里讨取不合理的承诺。 —

“You are not to see him, understand, until everything is arranged.”
“在一切准备就绪之前，你不能见他，明白吗？”

That was too much to ask of her. She shed a few silent tears. —
这要求实在太过分了。她默默地流了几滴眼泪。 —

He, for his part, was almost strangled with jealousy. —
至于他，几乎被嫉妒勒得喘不过气来。 —

Even now she was unable to forget Kaoru! —
即使现在她也无法忘记薰！ —

He talked on and on, now weeping, now reproaching her.
他说个不停，时而哭泣，时而责备她。

Late in the night, again in a warm embrace, they started back across the river.
深夜里，再次在温暖的拥抱中，他们开始回到河的对岸。

“I doubt if the man to whom you seem to give the top ranking can be expected to treat you as well. —
“我怀疑你给出最高评价的那个男人是否会像你期望的那样善待你。 —

You will know what I mean, I trust.”
你会懂我的意思的，我相信。”

It was true, she thought, nodding. He was delighted.
她想，这是真的，点了点头。他感到高兴。

Ukon opened the side door and the girl went in, and he was left feeling utterly desolate.
宇今打开侧门，女孩走进去，他却感到绝望。

As usual after such expeditions, he returned to Nijō. His appetite quite left him and he grew paler and thinner by the day, to the consternation of the whole court. —
像往常一样，在这种探险之后，他回到了二条。他的胃口完全没有了，日渐消瘦，令整个宫廷震惊。 —

In the stir that ensued he was unable to get a decent letter off to Uji.
在随之而来的骚动中，他无法给宇治写封像样的信。

That officious nurse of Ukifune’s had been with her daughter, who was in confinement; —
宇今那个热心的保姆一直在陪着她那在产后的女儿； —

but now that she was back Ukifune was scarcely able to glance at such letters as did come. —
但现在她回来了，宇今几乎无法瞥见那些信件。 —

Her mother hated having her off in the wilderness, but consoled herself with the thought that Kaoru would make a dependable patron and guardian. —
她的母亲讨厌她在荒野中，但安慰自己，因为薰将成为一个可靠的赞助人和监护人。 —

The indications were that he would soon, albeit in secret, move her to a place near his Sanjō mansion. —
情况表明他很快会，尽管是秘密地，把她搬到靠近他三条府邸的地方。 —

Then they would be able to look the world square in the face! —
然后他们就能坦然面对世界了！ —

The mother began seeking out accomplished serving women and pretty little girls and sending them off to her daughter. —
母亲开始物色有能力的侍女和漂亮的小姑娘，派她们去见女儿。 —

All this was as it should be, Ukifune knew; —
这一切都是理所当然的，浮船心知。 —

yet the image of the dashing, impetuous Niou, now reproaching her, now wheedling and cajoling, insisted upon coming back. —
然而，那个轻率、冲动的仁王的形象，时而指责她，时而哄骗她，却总是不断地回到她的脑海中。 —

When she dozed off for a moment, there he would be in her dreams. —
当她稍微打盹的时候，他就出现在她的梦中。 —

How much easier for everyone if he would go away!
如果他肯离开就好了，这样对每个人都会更容易！

The rains continued, day after day. Chafing at his inability to travel that mountain road, Niou thought how constricting was “the cocoon one’s parents weave about one” — and that was scarcely a kind way to characterize the concern his royal parents felt for him. —
雨天持续不断。仁王怀着对无法穿越那山路的无奈之情，思量着“父母为之编织的茧”是多么的压抑——而这并不是一种友善的方式来描述他皇家父母对他的关切。 —

He sent off a long letter in which he set down his thoughts as they came to him.
他写信长篇大论，把他的想法原汁原味地写了下来。

“I gaze your way in search of the clouds above you.
“我望你的方向，寻找着你头顶的云。”

I see but darkness, so dreary these days of rain.”
我只看到漆黑一片，这些雨天如此阴郁。

His hand was if anything more interesting the less care he took with it. —
他的手，即便是疏忽的时候，也更有趣味。 —

She was still young and rather flighty, and these avowals of love set up increasingly strong tremors in response. —
她还很年轻，有点飘忽不定，他对爱的表白引起了越来越强烈的颤抖。 —

Yet she could not forget the other gentleman, a gentleman of undoubted depth and nobility, perhaps because it was he who had first made her feel wanted. —
然而，她无法忘记另一个绅士，一个无可置疑的深沉和高贵的绅士，也许是因为他最初让她感到被需要。 —

Where would she turn if he were to hear of this sordid affair and abandon her? —
如果他听说了这桩肮脏的事情并离开了她，她该往何处去？ —

And her mother, who lived for the day when he would give her a home, would certainly be upset, and very angry too. —
她的母亲，过着期待有一天他会为她提供一个家的生活，肯定会很沮丧，而且也会很生气。 —

Prince Niou, judging from his letters, burned with impatience; —
根据他的信件，仁王燃烧着焦躁不安； —

but she had heard a great deal about his volatility and feared that his fondness for her was a matter of the passing moment. —
但她听说过他的多变性，害怕他对她的喜爱只是片刻的事。 —

Supposing he were indeed to hide her away and number her among his enduring loves — how could she then face Nakanokimi, her own sister? —
假如他确实把她藏匿起来，把她列为他永恒的爱人之一，她又如何面对她的妹妹中君呢？ —

The world kept no secrets, as his success in searching her out after that strange, fleeting encounter in the dusk had demonstrated. —
世界没有秘密，他在黄昏那次奇怪而短暂的相遇之后成功寻找到她，这已经证明了这一点。 —

Kaoru might bring her into the city, but was it possible that his rival would fail to seek her out there too? —
虽然薰可能带她进城，但他的对手会不会也在那里寻找到她呢？ —

And if Kaoru were to turn against her, she knew that she would have herself to blame.
如果薰对她产生敌意，她知道那会是自己的责任。

Her thoughts had reached this impasse when a second letter came, this one from Kaoru. Ranged side by side, the two letters seemed to reproach her. —
她的思绪陷入僵局，此时收到了第二封信，这一封是薰写的。两封信并排放着，仿佛在责备着她。 —

She went off and lay down with Niou’s, the longer of the two. —
她走开，躺在两封信中较长的那一封，那是新生。 —

Ukon and Jijū exchanged glances: so the game was over, and Niou had won.
宇今和侍从互相看了看：比赛已经结束，新生赢了。

“Perfectly natural,” said Jijū. “I really thought I had never seen a finer man than the general, but the prince is so handsome, especially when he’s just being himself. —
“很自然，”宇今说。“我确实觉得将军是我见过最优秀的男士，但王子的英俊，尤其是在做自己的时候，简直令人心动。 —

If he ever paid that much attention to me, I can tell you, I’d be making my plans right now. —
如果他对我如此关注，我可以告诉你，我会立即开始做我的计划。 —

I’d be looking for a place with Her Majesty, and then I could see him every day of the week.”
我会找一个与皇后同在的地方，然后我就可以每天都见到他了。”

“I can see that you bear watching. But I don’t agree. The general is the finest of them all. —
“我觉得你需要警惕一些。但我不同意，将军是他们所有人中最优秀的。 —

I don’t care about looks. Manners and disposition, those are the things that count. —
我不在乎外表。举止和性情，这些才是最重要的。 —

But she has worked herself into a fine predicament, on that I think we can agree. —
但她已经陷入了一个很棘手的境地，我想我们可以这样认同。 —

Whatever will become of her?”
她将会怎样呢？”

Life was easier for Ukon, however. It was easier to tell lies and invent excuses now that there were two of them.
尽管如此，对于宇今来说生活更容易了。现在有了两个人，就更容易撒谎和编造借口了。

“I have been very remiss,” said Kaoru’s letter in part, “though you may be sure that you have been constantly on my mind. —
“我实在是太过失了”，薰的信中写道，“你可以确信你一直在我的心中。 —

I would be very pleased indeed if I might have a note from you now and then. —
我会非常高兴如果我能偶尔收到你的便条。 —

Can you have led yourself to believe that I do not care for you?
你怎么会认为我不在乎你呢？

“The long, dark rains go on, one’s heart is dark.
“漫长的黑暗绵延，心也变得昏沉。

Will it be so in yon village of rising waters?
那个涨水之村庄是否也是如此？

“My longing to see you is greater with each passing day.”
“我每一天都盼望着见到你。”

It was on prim white paper in a formal envelope. —
那是用正式的信封装着的洁白纸张写的。 —

The writing lacked subtlety, perhaps, but suggested breeding and sensitivity.
这样的书信虽然欠缺细腻，但却显示出了教养和敏感。

Niou’s letter was interesting too. Long and detailed and intricately folded, it was as different from Kaoru’s as a letter could possibly be. —
牛王子的信也很有趣。长篇细节丰富，折叠复杂，和薰的信形成了鲜明的对比。 —

She must answer it first, while no one else was with her, said one of the two women. —
其中一个女官说，她必须先回复这封信，而且必须在无人打扰的时候。 —

She took up her brush — but no, she could not possibly. —
她拿起毛笔 — 但不行，她不可能。 —

As if by way of practice, she set down a poem:
她仿佛在练习一样，写下了一首诗：

“‘Gloom’ is the name of Uji in Yamashiro.
“‘蒲池‘在山背，跋扈黠谮。

It speaks of the lives of us who dwell in its compass.”
此言道出了我们居住其中的生活。”

Sometimes she would take out the sketch Niou had made for her, and weep. —
有时她会拿出牛留给她的素描，然后哭泣。 —

His love would not last, it could not, she told herself, wishing that quiet resignation would come to her. —
她告诉自己，他的爱不会持久，也不可能持久，希望能够悄然接受这个事实。 —

But she wept more bitterly at the thought that she might one day be torn from him.
但她更为痛苦地哭泣，想到有一天可能会被远离他。

At length she sent an answer. He wept quite unapologetically as he read it:
最终她回了信。他读到时哭得毫不掩饰：

“I wish to be as the cloud that darkens the peak.
“我希望成为那片阴云，遮蔽山峰。”

Better so than aimlessly drifting through life.
我宁愿如此，也不愿毫无目标地漫无目的地度过一生。

“Were I to join them … ”
“如果我能和他们一起……”

She did, after all, seem fond of him. He thought again of that pathetic little figure, huddled up as if in defense against its own thoughts.
毕竟，她似乎对他挺有好感。他再次想起那个可怜的小身影，像是在防备自己的想法。

And the more proper of the two suitors was meanwhile reading his note over and over. —
与此同时，更为得体的两个求婚者中的一个正在一遍又一遍地阅读他的便条。 —

He deeply sympathized, and wanted very much to see her. This was her poem:
他深表同情，非常想见她。这是她的诗：

“The tedious days of rain, incessant rain,
“无聊的雨季，连绵不断的雨，

They speak to me of me. Yet wetter my sleeves.”
它们对我说着我，但我的袖子更湿。”

“I have hesitated to mention it, not for the world wanting to offend you,” he said to his wife; —
“我一直犹豫要不要提起这件事，绝不是想冒犯你，”他对他的妻子说； —

“but the truth is that I have left an old friend out in the country, and she is so unhappy there that I am thinking of bringing her into town. —
“但事实是，我有个老朋友待在乡下不开心，我正在考虑把她带到城里来。 —

I have always been an odd sort of man, reconciled to living an odd life; —
我一直是个古怪的人，甘心过着古怪的生活； —

but you have made me see that I am not capable of running away from the world. —
但你让我意识到，我没有能力逃离世界。” —

And so it makes me feel sad and guilty to have these little secrets.”
这让我感到悲伤和内疚，因为我有这些小秘密。”

“I see no reason at all to be jealous,” she replied.
“我完全没有理由感到嫉妒，”她回答道。

“But what will people say to your father? —
“那父亲听了会怎么想呢？ —

They will talk, you know, and gossip can be a nuisance. —
你知道的，人们会议论八卦，真是讨厌。 —

Not that she is important enough to produce a really good scandal.”
她并不重要到能引起真正的丑闻。”

He had a house for the girl, but he squirmed at the thought of having it said that he was readying himself a pleasant trysting place. —
他为这女孩准备了一处住所，但一想到人们会说他在准备一个宜人的幽会之地，他就感到不安。 —

In the greatest secrecy he commissioned paintings for the doors. —
他秘密地委托了门上的绘画。 —

And the man whom he chose to make his special confidant was the father-in-law of the secretary who had taken Niou to Uji. The news, nothing omitted, was promptly relayed to Niou.
而他选择作为特别知己的那个人，是曾护送申男去宇治的秘书的岳父。消息一字不漏地迅速传到了申男那里。

“He has the services of artists whom he trusts completely. —
“他雇了他完全信任的艺术家。 —

It is an out-of-the-way little place, but he doesn’t seem to care a thing about the expense.”
那是一个偏僻的小地方，但他似乎一点也不在乎花费。”

Niou saw that he must act quickly. He remembered that his old nurse had a house in the lower reaches of the city and that she would shortly be going to a remote province with her husband, who was to be governor.
申男意识到他必须迅速行动。他记得他的老保姆在城市下游有一处房子，她和当地即将出任知府的丈夫不久将要去一个遥远的省份。

“I have someone whom it seems important to keep out of sight,” he said to her.
“我有一个人，似乎很重要让她不被人看见，”他对保姆说。

The nurse and her family had misgivings. What sort of woman would he be after this time? —
保姆一家有些犹豫不定。这么长时间后他会成为怎样的男子汉？ —

But it was not theirs to refuse what seemed important to him. —
但他们无权拒绝他认为重要的事情。 —

Something would be arranged, they sent back, and his spirits revived. —
他们回复说会安排好，他的精神一振。 —

The governor was to leave towards the end of the month. —
州知要在月底离开。 —

Niou decided to move the girl into the house on the very day of his departure. —
如織决定在他离开的那天就把女孩搬进房子里。 —

Word was sent to Uji, with emphasis on the need for secrecy. —
派人通知宇治，强调需要保密。 —

It would of course be out of the question for Niou to go there himself, and word came back that there might be complications because of that overzealous nurse.
当然, 如織本人无法去那里, 回来的消息说由于那个过于热心的护士可能会出现问题。

Kaoru was meanwhile making his own plans: —
此时薰也在筹划自己的计划: —

he would send for Ukifune on the tenth day of the Fourth Month. Though Ukifune was not disposed to follow “whatever waters beckon,” she could not imagine what else she was to do with herself. —
他打算在四月的第十天派人去召唤憂國。虽然憂國并不愿意随“无论水向何方”的命令，她却无法想象自己还能做些什么。 —

Utterly distraught, she wanted only to go home, there to spend a few days in quiet thought. —
悲伤至极, 她只想回家, 在那里静思几天。 —

But the governor’s house would be overrun with priests and noisy with prayers and incantations, for the sister, the lieutenant’s wife, was in confinement. —
但州知的家里将会挤满僧侣, 闹响着祈祷和诵经的声音, 因为小姨子, 无能的妻子, 正处在坐月子之中。 —

Nor would it be possible, in the circumstances, to think of a trip to Ishiyama.
在这种情况下，想到去石山旅行是不可能的。

One day her mother came calling.
有一天, 她的母亲来访。

The nurse bustled about playing the good hostess. —
护士匆匆忙忙地表现得像是好东道主。 —

“The general has been so nice about clothes and all. —
“将军一直关心衣服和一切事务。” —

I would have been very glad, I’m sure, to do it all myself, but of course I’m just a woman. —
“我当然很高兴去为他办这一切, 但当然我只是个女人。 —

We women do make the worst bungle of things.”
我们女人总是把事情搞糟的。”

Faced with all this joy, the giri could only think of impending disaster. —
面对所有这一切的喜悦，己狸只能想到即将来临的灾难。 —

The whole world would be laughing at them.
全世界都会嘲笑他们。

There had come yet another letter from the importunate Niou. He would seek her out, he declared, even if she hid behind the eightfold mountain mists. —
又收到了那个冥顽不灵的仁王的来信。他宣称他会找到她，即使她躲在八重山的雾气之后。 —

The two of them would then have no recourse but to die. —
他们两人只能选择死亡。 —

Far better to slip off somewhere together.
更好的办法是一起悄悄离开。

What was she to do? In hopeless indecision, she lay down again.
她该怎么办呢？在绝望的犹豫中，她再次躺了下来。

“My, but you do look pale.” Her mother was openly surprised. —
“天哪，你看起来真苍白。” 妈妈大大地吃惊。 —

“And I think you’ve lost weight.”
“我觉得你瘦了。”

“She hasn’t been herself for days and days. —
“她已经好几天不像自己了。 —

She won’t eat a bite, and she seems so tired and mopish all the time.”
她什么都不吃，一直显得很疲惫和消沉。”

“Something has gotten at her. Oh, my! Could it be that, I wonder. —
“有什么东西折磨着她。哎呀！难道不会是那个吧。 —

But of course we did have to cancel the trip to Ishiyama.”
但当然我们确实不得不取消了到石山的行程。”

The girl looked away.
女孩别过了脸。

In the evening the moon was bright. She was on the edge of tears as she thought of the moon in the dawn that other night. —
晚上月光明亮。想起那天黎明时分的月亮，她快要哭了。 —

But she must drive it from her mind.
但她必须要将这些从脑海里赶走。

The governor’s wife invited Bennokimi over to exchange memories of days long past. —
巡抚夫人邀请奔之君过去交换往昔的记忆。 —

The nun spoke of Oigimi, of what a sober, deliberate lady she had been and of how, in her worries, she had faded away before their eyes.
尼姑谈到了欧吉美，她曾是一个清醒、深思熟虑的女士，在他们的担忧中，她在他们眼前消逝了。

“And if she had lived, she too would have had your daughter to share her thoughts with. —
“如果她还活着，她也会有你的女儿来分享她的想法。 —

What a consolation that would have been for them.”
那对她们来说将是一个多大的安慰。”

What right had they to look down upon her daughter? the governor’s wife was muttering to herself. —
统领的夫人自言自语地说着，他们有什么权利看不起她的女儿？ —

Was she not one of them? Well, if fate proved as kind as they now had reason to expect, she would be one of them.
她不也是他们中的一员吗？如果命运像他们现在有理由期望的那样慈祥，她也会成为他们中的一员。