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@ 51179 小太監進宮二
A 奴才給娘娘請安！快，跪下！
núcai gěi niángniang qǐng ān! kuài, guì xia!
Slave, bow to your lady! Quick! Kneel down!
B 我是小順子，給娘娘磕頭。
wǒ shì Xiǎoshùnzi, gěi niángniang kētóu.
I'm Xiao Shunzi. I'm kowtowing for my lady.
A 混賬！誰教你這麼說的！你是奴才，不能用“我”字。
hùnzhàng! shéi jiāo nǐ zhème shuō de! nǐ shì núcai, bùnéng yòng `` wǒ" zì.
Bastard! Who taught you to speak that way!? You're a slave! You can't use the word ``I."
C 哎喲，大清早的就不能讓本宮清靜會兒嗎？
āiyōu, dàqīngzǎo de jiù bùnéng ràng běngōng qīngjìng huǐr ma?
Agh, can't I get some peace and quiet in the early morning?
A 奴才該死！
núcai gāi sǐ!
Your slave deserves to die!
C 這小傢伙是誰啊？小臉蛋兒倒長得挺俊俏的，濃眉大眼，挺招人喜歡的嘛！
zhè xiǎojiāhuo shì shéi ā? xiǎo liǎndànr dào zhǎng de tǐng jùnqiào de, nóngméidàyǎn, tǐng zhāo rén xǐhuan de ma!
Who's this little guy? He's got a pretty little face-- nice dark eyebrows and big eyes. Very appealing!
A 娘娘，這是奴才特意幫您萬里挑一選出來的孩子，叫小順子。人挺機靈，就是不懂規矩，還需要奴才花時間調教一下。
niángniang, zhè shì núcái tèyì bāng nín wànlǐtiāoyī xuǎn chūlai de háizi, jiào Xiǎoshùnzi. rén tǐng jīling, jiùshì bù dǒng guīju, hái xūyào núcai huā shíjiān tiáojiào yīxià.
Lady, this is an extremely rare little child that your slave chose especially for you! He's called Xiao Shunzi. He's very clever and bright. It's just that he doesn't understand the rules. Your slave must spend a little time training him.
C 小順子就留在這兒吧，本宮親自來教他。將來他可要派大用場啊！來人啊，賞楚公公白銀五百兩。
Xiǎoshùnzi jiù liú zài zhèr ba, běngōng qīnzì lái jiāo tā. jiānglái tā kě yào pài dà yòngchǎng ā! lái rén ā, shǎng Chǔ gōnggong báiyín wǔbǎi liǎng.
Stay here, Xiao Shunzi. I'll train him myself. He'll be put to great use in the future! Someone come reward Grandpa Chu with five hundred taels [an ancient measure of weight--Ed.] of silver!
A 謝娘娘！
xiè niángniang!
Thank you, my lady!
（若干年後）
ruògān nián hòu)
(After several years)
C 小順子，過來給本宮捶捶背，鬆鬆骨頭。
Xiǎoshùnzi, guòlai gěi běngōng chuí chui bèi, sōng song gútou.
Xiao Shunzi, come over here and pound gently on my back. Loosen up my bones.
B 喳！
zhā!
Oh!
C 你說，本宮是皇上最寵愛的妃子，看他整天為國事操心，本宮該不該幫他出出主意呢？
nǐ shuō, běngōng shì huángshang zuì chǒng ài de fēizi, kàn tā zhěngtiān wèi guóshì cāoxīn, běngōng gāi bù gāi bāng tā chū chu zhǔyi ne?
I'm the Emperor's most beloved concubine. Tell me- looking at the way he worries about the country every day, do you think I should give him some advice?
B 奴才要守本分，娘娘說的奴才不懂。
núcai yào shǒu běnfèn, niángniang shuō de núcai bù dǒng.
Your humble slave must keep to his role. Your slave does not understand what his lady is saying.
C 啊呀，你是本宮的人。本宮叫你吃你就吃，叫你說你就說，再說這裡又沒有外人！
āyā, nǐ shì běngōng de rén. běngōng jiào nǐ chī nǐ jiù chī, jiào nǐ shuō nǐ jiù shuō, zài shuō zhèlǐ yòu méiyǒu wàirén!
Oh, you belong to me! You eat if I tell you to eat, and you speak if I tell you to speak. And anyway, there aren't any outsiders here!
B 喳。奴才認為，娘娘應該幫皇上參謀。宮裡的人個個勾心鬥角，明爭暗鬥，皇上身邊需要有個最親的人來幫助他。
zhā. núcai rènwéi, niángniang yīnggāi bāng huángshang cānmóu. gōng lǐ de rén gègè gōuxīndòujiǎo, míngzhēng àndòu, huángshàng shēnbiān xūyào yǒu ge zuì qīn de rén lái bāngzhù tā.
Oh. Your slave thinks that your ladyship should give the Emperor some counsel. Everyone in the palace is jockeying for position, in public and in private. The Emperor needs someone very close by his side who can help him out.
C 說得好！小順子，那你覺得皇上身邊最親的人是誰啊？
shuō de hǎo! Xiǎo shùnzi, nà nǐ juéde huángshang shēnbiān zuì qīn de rén shì shéi ā?
Well put! Well, then, Xiao Shunzi, who do you think is the closest person to the Emperor?
B 當然是娘娘。您是小順子的主子，小順子發誓一輩子對娘娘忠心！
dāngrán shì niáng niang. nín shì Xiǎoshùnzi de zhǔzi, Xiǎoshùnzi fāshì yībèizi duì niángniang zhōngxīn!
My lady, of course! You are Xiao Shunzi's master, and Xiao Shunzi promises to be loyal to his lady until the day he dies!
C 那本宮叫你幹嗎你就幹嗎？
nà běngōng jiào nǐ gànmá nǐ jiù gànmá?
Well, then, will you do whatever I tell you?
B 那是自然的。請娘娘吩咐就是了。
nà shì zìrán de. qǐng niángniang fēnfù jiùshìle .
As a matter of course! Xiao Shunzi does as his lady commands.
Key Vocabulary
請安 qǐng ān to pay one's respects
跪 guì to kneel
磕頭 kētóu kowtow
混賬 hùnzhàng bastard
俊俏 jùnqiào pretty, graceful
濃眉大眼 nóngméidàyǎn thick eyebrows with big eyes
萬里挑一 wànlǐtiāoyī one-in-ten-thousand
規矩 guīju rules
調教 tiáojiào to train
用場 yòngchǎng use
國事 guóshì national matters
本分 běnfèn one's duty and status
參謀 cānmóu to give advice
勾心鬥角 gōuxīndòujiǎo to vie for position
明爭暗鬥 míngzhēng àndòu infighting (public and private)
忠心 zhōngxīn loyal
就是了 jiùshìle that's just it
Supplementary Vocabulary
下跪 xiàguì to go down on one's knees
行禮 xínglǐ to salute, to present gifts
伺候 cìhou to wait upon
後宮 hòugōng concubine
百裡挑一 bǎilǐtiāoyī one-in-a-hundred
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