Ximen Qing (西门庆) travels to the capital to press a favor and is introduced by Zhai Qian (翟谦) to Grand Chancellor Cai Jing (蔡京). He is awed by the mansion and the formal ritual. He kneels, presents gifts and performs the stipulated prostrations. Cai Jing accepts him as a nominal godson. Ximen departs with pride and unease. In the afternoon a garden banquet cements the tie with a ritual cup gesture that moves him deeply. He returns to Qinghe County (清河县) and proclaims his new status. He distributes gifts and receives continuous congratulatory visits. Local life buzzes with offerings and entertainments. Old acquaintances come seeking loans. Chang Shijie (常峙节) arrives in urgent want. Ximen first entertains him lavishly and promises later help. Miao Yuanwai (苗员外) from Yangzhou (扬州) sends two young singing boys as a present. The boys arrive sorrowful. They have wept since leaving home. Ximen stages a new banquet in a recently built hall to hear them sing. The songs are mournful yet admired by guests. Ximen names the boys Hongchun (鸿春) and Hongyan (鸿燕). Women of the house peer from screens and windows. The performances both amuse and unsettle the household. Before long Hongyan falls ill and dies, leaving a lingering sadness. Domestic threads run through these events. Wu Yue-niang (吴月娘) feels relieved that household burdens will be eased. Meng Yulou (孟玉楼) manages accounts. Li Ping'er (李瓶儿) tends the child. Pan Jinlian (潘金莲) continues a furtive affair with Chen Jingji (陈敬济) through secret notes and garden trysts. Ying Bojue (应伯爵) and others speak of hiring a scribe, and Ximen debates the candidate's character before declining one suggested scholar. A towering monk solicits donations for Yongfu Temple (永福寺). Ximen gives five hundred taels and records the gift in a ledger. Dai'an (玳安) later distributes small sums and Chang receives coins that temporarily settle domestic strife. Observers like Zhang Zhupo (张竹坡) and Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng (兰陵笑笑生) comment on how money smooths daily quarrels yet cannot hide deeper decline. The episodes weave public display, private longing and social calculation. They show how connections, gifts and entertainments prop up status while exposing fragile hierarchies and human vulnerabilities. FREE transcripts of the audio files are available for download at: https://www.truelake.com/qrpages/pingshufreedownloads/

西门庆为攀权入京，托翟谦引荐觐见太师蔡京并献礼求恩。初入太师府便为门庭威严所震。礼数繁重，他照办三拜六叩，虽获允为义子，仍觉位分悬殊。午后凉亭设宴，杯座礼令他终生难忘。归乡后他将京中见闻夸耀于家，分赐美物，县里送贺不断，应酬绵延。常峙节等友人因困乏借贷来访，他先以宴请安抚，后承诺稍后资助。扬州苗员外送来两位歌童，府内设新卷棚听曲，并赐名鸿春鸿燕。两童自离乡泣行，唱曲哀切。鸿燕不久病逝，府中余悲。家中诸妇反应各异。吴月娘因家务重归感欣慰并兼顾管账。孟玉楼代理家务，李瓶儿与孩安然。潘金莲与陈敬济暗通书信私会，情事越发隐秘。西门庆与应伯爵商议置文书，曾推辞才子人选以虑其人品。后有大和尚募捐兴修寺庙，他慷慨捐银以显富贵。张竹坡与兰陵笑笑生评点家事，见小人物因银得暂安，亦见富人外显繁华内有隙象。全卷通过宴赏、借贷、赠与与私情，描绘出权势攀附、金钱往来与人心细微交错的世态图。 音频文件的字幕稿可在以下网址免费下载： https://www.truelake.com/qrpages/pingshufreedownloads/