Chun-ngo (Fong Yim-fun) has to sell herself to raise money for her father's burial and is taken by the Minister of Works Sit (Wong Chin-sui) as second concubine. Sit is presumed dead after an accident during official duty and first concubine (Fung Wong Nui) quickly grabs her share of the family fortunes and abandons her son. Chun-ngo raises to manhood the boy, the family's only male heir, who grows up to become Imperial Exam's Top Scholar (Lam Kar-sing). After that, Sit is found to have survived…

How Third Madam Educated Her Son (aka How Chun-ngo Educated Her Son) is a cherished traditional opera and the titled character is an integral role in the repertoire of a zhengdan (decent, dignified female roles). Fong, commonly lauded ‘Queen of Huadan', offers a text-book demonstration of the character, personifying the virtues of suffering in silence while remaining staunchly loyal to womanly obligations. Her duet with legendary actor Leng Chi Bak, as the servant who remains devoted despite all the difficulties, is a wonderful performance of the erhuang singing mode, captured in full glory on screen for future audiences to relish.

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