Читать книгу The Valley of Amazement - Amy Tan - Страница 12

CHAPTER 4

ETIQUETTE FOR BEAUTIES OF THE BOUDOIR

Wherein Magic Gourd advises young Violet on how to become a popular courtesan while avoiding cheapskates, false love, and suicide

Shanghai 1912 Magic Gourd

Do you want to wear out your insides by the time you are sixteen? Of course not. Then learn these lessons well.

While you are still a virgin courtesan, you must learn all the arts of enticement and master the balance of anticipation and reticence. Your defloration won’t happen until the New Year, when you turn fifteen, and I expect you to have many ardent suitors by the time Madam is ready to sell your bud.

You might be thinking, What does my attendant, old Magic Gourd, know about romance?