Ximen Qing (西门庆) rules his household by appetite and money. In his study he becomes intimate with a young bookboy. A small painter boy and the servant Ping'an (平安) overhear and peer. Pan Jinlian (潘金莲) grows suspicious and tells Ping'an to watch the house. Bai Laiguang (白赉光) then bursts in. Ping'an is blamed for admitting him. Ximen Qing orders Ping'an dragged out and given twenty strokes on a bench. He is whipped until veins show. The little painter boy is called and struck ten times. Servants feel pity but fear punishment. The episode exposes how quickly private indulgence turns to public humiliation. Ximen Qing also maintains public ties. He receives the passing scholar Cai Yun (蔡蕴) and his companion An Chen (安忱). The household stages a small entertainment. The boy disguised as a female singer performs a scene from a play. The literati applaud his talent. Ximen Qing recognizes an advantage. He keeps the bookboy and his attendant Dai'an (玳安) in the house for service. The performance becomes a means to secure favored servants and display refinement. Beyond erotic episodes, transactions and patronage shape events. A steward requests help finding a concubine for his household. Ximen Qing visits Han Daoguo's (韩道国) home and approves a girl named Han Aijie (韩爱姐). He provides gifts and arranges her trip to the capital. Her mother, Wang Liu (王六), weeps in separation. Ximen Qing visits to comfort her. He purchases a companion maid called Jin'er and then sleeps with Wang Liu. Comfort and exploitation blur. A few days later Ying Bojue (应伯爵) arrives with Li Zhi (李智) and Huang Si (黄四) seeking funds for a spice venture. After bargaining Ximen Qing advances fifteen hundred taels at agreed interest. The money is delivered. On his way to visit Wang Liu he encounters Han Er returning drunk and causing trouble. He prepares to punish the troublemaker. These episodes show a man who uses wealth to shape favor and fate. Intimacy, violence and commerce coexist. Hospitality and humiliation sit side by side. Power moves in silver and secrecy. Social bonds are fragile. Money buys obedience and silences complaint. The moral climate is brittle and transactional. FREE transcripts of the audio files are available for download at: https://www.truelake.com/qrpages/pingshufreedownloads/

西门庆凭恃财权纵情声色，家中风波不断。书房里他与幼书童私通，被小画童与平安窥见。潘金莲多疑，命平安暗候，局势越发紧张。白赉光突闯后，平安为引门户之责遭西门庆怒打二十板，血脉暴露而痛哭，小画童又受十板之刑。众人难辨是非，但怜悯与恐惧并存。西门庆又在家设宴接待过路举子蔡蕴与文士安忱。书童扮旦唱曲，技艺动人，文人赞叹，西门庆见机将其留为侍从。翟管家托人觅小妾之事，西门庆亲往韩家物色，见韩爱姐容貌端丽，遂安排聘礼并遣其上京。王六为女离去悲泣，西门庆买下锦儿安慰其寂寞，竟与王六同房行欢。又数日为应伯爵等人垫资一千五百两，议定利息，彰显其经济与人际操作能力。此卷诸事交织，既有豪奢宴乐与风流私事，也显强权冷酷与人情交易。银两左右人命与情感，权势下的笑与泪交替出现，世态人情尽显市侩与无奈。 音频文件的字幕稿可在以下网址免费下载： https://www.truelake.com/qrpages/pingshufreedownloads/