Chapter 8: Baoyu Is Beaten
第八章：宝玉が殴られる
One hot summer afternoon, terrible news reached the Jia mansion. A servant girl named Jinchuan had thrown herself into a well and drowned. The reason was a cruel rumor that Baoyu had spoken improper words to her. Whether the rumor was true or not, the result was the same: a young life was lost.
暑い夏の午後、恐ろしい知らせが賈屋敷に届きました。金釧という使用人が井戸に身を投げて溺死したというのです。理由は宝玉が彼女に不適切な言葉をかけたという残酷な噂でした。噂が真実かどうかにかかわらず、結果は同じでした。若い命が失われたのです。
Baoyu's father, Jia Zheng, was furious when he heard the news. He had always been disappointed in his son, who refused to study for the exams and spent his days with the girls in the garden. Now he saw Baoyu as a source of shame for the entire family. "Bring him to me!" he shouted, his face red with anger.
宝玉の父、賈政は知らせを聞いて激怒しました。彼はいつも、科挙の勉強を拒否して庭園の娘たちと一日を過ごす息子を失望させていました。今、彼は宝玉を家族全体の恥の源だと見ていました。「彼を連れてこい！」彼は叫び、顔は怒りで赤くなりました。
When Baoyu was brought before his father, Jia Zheng ordered the servants to beat him. The heavy bamboo sticks fell upon Baoyu's back again and again. He cried out in pain, but his father showed no mercy. The other family members heard the sounds and rushed to the scene, begging Jia Zheng to stop.
宝玉が父の前に連れてこられると、賈政は使用人に彼を殴るよう命じました。重い竹の棒が宝玉の背中に繰り返し降りかかりました。彼は痛みで叫びましたが、父は慈悲を示しませんでした。他の家族の者たちは音を聞いて現場に駆けつけ、賈政に止めるよう懇願しました。
Grandmother Jia arrived and stood between her son and her grandson. "If you want to kill him, you must kill me first!" she declared. Her words finally stopped the beating. Baoyu was carried to his room, his body covered with wounds. Daiyu came to see him and wept silently by his bed.
賈母が到着し、息子と孫の間に立ちました。「彼を殺したいなら、まず私を殺しなさい！」彼女は宣言しました。彼女の言葉がついに殴打を止めました。宝玉は部屋に運ばれ、彼の体は傷で覆われていました。黛玉が彼を訪ね、彼のベッドのそばで静かに泣きました。
The incident left deep marks on Baoyu's body and his heart. He began to understand that the world outside the garden was a harsh place, where power and rules controlled everything. The gentle life he had known was protected only by his grandmother's love, and that protection would not last forever.
この出来事は宝玉の体と心に深い跡を残しました。彼は庭園の外の世界が権力とルールがすべてを支配する厳しい場所であることを理解し始めました。彼が知っていた穏やかな生活は祖母の愛によってのみ守られており、その保護は永遠には続かないのでした。