Original subtitles

Last Madame #5 TI4585 CaptionCube

Singapore in the 1920s -

it was... a harder time than most,

but it was a more elegant one too

Nothing epitomized these two qualities...

better than Fung Lan and her House of Phoenix

You may look on her with disgust,

but a good madame is a woman of many skills -

good judgement of character,

excellent physical stamina,

the grace to charm good clients and girls...

and the daring to challenge bad ones

She teaches her girls how to serve herbs that awaken lust,

how to stop unwanted pregnancy,

how to check a client for diseases without offending them

It's a delicate dance

Trip,

and you are ruined

Bye

Mr Wai is waiting for you in the hall

Mr Wai! -Hi

I miss you so much -I know you do

Come

No one looks after her

If something goes wrong, she cannot call the police

She keeps order on her own

She must make them...

love her...

and fear her

Don't ever come back again

She takes care of them...

because healthy girls last longer

Your bath is ready

For many of her girls,

she will be the only mother they know,

the only role model with any power

But perhaps also because they are the only children she has,

Fung Lan was all of this... and more

"At least she has a chance at a better life..."

And my father loved her

And your father told you all that?

We all knew

He married my mother,

but he loved Fung Lan

He even brought me here once...

when I was a young boy

When I heard it was up for sale,

I thought it's better for me to take a last look...

for Dad

If I knew you were so interested,

I would have given them all to you

Given what?

My father's journal

He wrote about this place...

and her

But it's too late

I've given them all away

Who did you give them to?

Madame

Madame -Morning

Madame

Where's Siu Lan?

Has she eaten?

She hasn't come down

She says she's tired

Call her

I won't have her fainting during work

I'm here

Porridge again?

- You've got food, yet you're complaining? - Thank you

Next time you are late, you can wash the dishes

George says that in England,

they have toast and eggs every morning with orange juice and tea

He can cook for us the next time, then

Who's George?

The handsome one with the chiselled face

Always asking for Siu Lan

Here, have some century egg

This is a waste of time

We're never gonna find that journal...

or that dodgy karang guni man that he sold them to

And even if we did, I mean, he's probably gonna cheat us

- He's here, and, don't worry, he won't - How do you know?

Because I know him, and "dodgy" karang guni men...

They're my specialty

Let's go

Hey, Tony

Hey, boy! Good to see you again

How's Sylvia?

Auntie? She's angry with me

I brought home this old ox cart from Kranji

It's very nice. You cannot find it anymore

She said it was too big,

and there was no space in the house

Women

You must be the lucky one

This boy is very picky

I wanted to set him up with my daughter, but he said no

No, I'm... We're not...

Tony, your daughter's already married...

to her fourth husband

See? Very picky, right?

Oh, by the way, have you seen Zam?

Zam?

Over there

Hey, he's there

Zam Zam, how's your cough?

I think it's getting better

Have you seen Dr Hairul?

No time

I told you

He's a good man. He won't charge you

Did you come just to nag at me?

You're worse than my wife

Actually, I'm here looking for some old books...

that you found in a big house in Siglap last week

The man said he gave them to a Malay guy with a bad cough

The pages were falling out,

so I threw them

Where?

There

Oh

You've gotta be kidding me

How many months are you?

Two, I think?

I haven't had my bleeding for two months

Why wait so long?

Where is the lambskin that you use with your clients?

There must be a tear

I'll have to get you a new one

George is the father

You have so many clients a week

How do you know it's him?

He doesn't like the skin

He says it makes him itchy

You're stupider than I thought

You've put all of us at risk

He's a sailor! You think he only sleeps with you?

Who knows what else he's carrying?

You're going to need a full check

I'll go to the physician for the right herbs

They should still work

But you'll be off work for at least a week

- It will cost us - Take it out of her wages!

No

I'm not getting rid of the baby,

not until I speak to him

I can't believe you're actually doing that

Relax

It's mostly cardboard

And it's quite fun, actually

You only live once, you know

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about jumping in a dumpster

How do you know those guys anyway?

The karang guni men?

I cut their hair -You what?

Yeah

My mum was a hairdresser,

and she taught me how to cut my hair when I was young...

because I hated it whenever someone touched it

So, when I met the guys at the market, I thought,

why not cut their hair for free?

They don't earn much money, you know, so...

I guess it's one less thing for them to worry about

Well, you're not doing a very good job

They still look scruffy

Why are you bothering with that?

You know, they've probably moved it away already

"It's been weeks since I met the madame of the House of Phoenix

"I've heard about her, observed her, spoken to her

"The more I learn about her, the more curious I become

"But nothing surprises me more than..."

Surprises me more than what?

"But nothing surprises me more...

"than the incident involving the girl they called...

"Siu Lan"

Come on -Do I have to?

You can get a drink in the kitchen

Thank you

So, what did he say?

I'm going to go away with him

He wants to keep the baby

Congratulations!

Thank you

Siu Lan, congratulations -Thank you

Madame

Will you... let me go?

It's my only chance, please

I beg you, I'll do anything

You may go...

if...

he pays the price

Actually, can I have two sugars?

Never mind

One is fine

She has at least two years of work left in her

That's $2,500

Plus my investment -

clothing, training, food -

I'll make it a clean $3,000

$3,000?

She said you were an unfeeling witch

You told her you'd bring her to England

Is that true?

I said it, didn't I?

And your family will welcome her with open arms?

Or will she end up on the streets once you're tired of her?

An oriental curiosity for the cheap whorehouses

No

No, I love her

$1,000, and I'll let her go

$1,000?

- But you said... - Do you want me to change my mind?

$1,000, and her happiness,

a good life,

a family...

and keep your promises to her

"Life offers few opportunities to the girls who feed these brothels

"Too many turn up dead, their bodies bearing signs of abuse

"Those responsible walk free, known to all but punished by none

"The high men of this city hide dark impulses..."

The amount he knows about brothels and the society...

Must be someone important

We have to sort all these out first before we can figure it out

It's gonna take hours, and...

I'm quite surprised you're interested

It happened so long ago

Doesn't even seem real

And then you find something like this, and you realize...

these are real people too

It's just so...

Magical?

I know

It's why I love history

Anyway, I just want to know...

what Siu Lan taught him about my great-grandmother

Well...

We'd better get started

I'll look, you shower

You smell like a rubbish dump

Go

Lucky I brought a spare

"Who can blame Siu Lan...

"for trying to escape,

"or for what happened next?"

Aw, come on

I want to see if it feels different when I'm not paying

Later

What did Madame say?

It's more than I thought

How much?

$5,000

That witch

You know I'd pay 10 times that for you

It'll take me some time to raise

Honestly,

I don't know where to start

The goldsmith of South Bridge -

he'll give you money for these

Even with my savings,

it won't be enough

It's enough for us to run away

You, me and our baby

You play along for a few days while I get ready

Then I'll meet you at dawn on Monday at the jetty

We'll take a small boat across the strait

Not...

Surely it is in the public's interest to know if a man might have a criminal history

But I don't know why it's in your best interest

He visits us often

I want to be sure he's not a dangerous man

Come on, madame

We both know that you know how to handle dangerous men

His name is George Brady

A sailor

He arrived on a trade ship I believe is called Maria

I'll look into him

But it would be easier if I knew why I was looking

Where's the fun in that, Inspector?

Siu Lan, I need you to take Mr Chow tonight

Muk Lei double-booked

She didn't double-book

Mr Klause requested me, but...

I'm not ready

Sorry, I'm busy

Busy with what? Your list is empty

As it should be

When George is paying an arm and a leg for me to leave,

I don't have to play the whore anymore like... you poor things

I wouldn't count your chickens so soon

He hasn't paid yet

You're just jealous

Well, you wait

I'll come back a fancy English lady, and on that day,

I cannot wait to see the look on Madame's face

Contact her clients

She will work until her debts are paid,

understood?

"I must understand who Fung Lan is,

"how she thinks, why she acts"

What?

The stories about her contradict themselves

It says she once slapped a girl so hard...

she bled

And she sold a child to a man 60 years older

And yet, at the flesh auctions,

she bids way too much for girls that no one else wants,

remaking the hopeless into the most desirable women in the city

Hey

Reinforcements

Thanks

You should take a break, you know

It's gonna be an information overload

Chi Ling?

You okay?

Yeah, it's just the way he wrote about her

Siu Lan?

No, Fung Lan

She wasn't a whore to him

She wasn't dirty

She was... strong and powerful,

smart and beautiful

He saw past what other people saw about her,

what I saw

Well,

to be fair to you,

you've never met her in person

Yeah, but she must've been something

After he met her,

he couldn't think about anyone else

That's what love is, right?

I'm sure you feel that way about Harry

That was a good take from last week

We'll need to look for Siu Lan's replacement soon

I don't want to lose more money than we have to

That ungrateful girl

After all that you've done for her...

And now you're letting her go for nothing

$1,000 is not "nothing"

She owes you more than money

You bought her from a rich boss, I remember

Everyone knew he killed his first wife

And the second?

He made her life a living hell

Siu Lan looked like a drowned rat when she arrived

She can only smirk and whine now...

all thanks to you

That girl...

She's paid her dues and made her choice

Now she has to live with it

Hey!

Did you wear my cheongsam again without asking me?

It's burned here, ruined!

You probably left the iron on it...

dreaming about George

You wretch!

How dare you!

Sis Yoke! -You wretch!

Stop fighting, girls!

Stop fighting, and stop acting like crazy women!

Ruin your clothes, and they come out of your wages!

Make her pay!

This is Mr Gek's favourite, and he comes tomorrow!

Ask your boyfriend to pay for it! I didn't touch it!

Well, he's broke, thanks to Madame!

It'll take him months to earn enough to satisfy that greedy cow!

She pretends to care for us,

but she'll milk us for every cent!

Watch your mouth

Can't fix this myself

I'll go to the tailor tomorrow morning

I won't be here for breakfast

I'll keep some porridge for you

Don't bother

It tastes terrible

I see you've come without an umbrella

What a brave man

You don't have to worry about Mr Brady

Other than some gambling, he's clean

Thank you

We'll be able to receive him with confidence next time

No

You've seen the last of him

I don't understand

Apparently, he struck big in a card game last week

Won enough money for him to return to England and marry his fiancée

Fiancée?

I thought you'd be pleased

Since you seemed to think that he's danger...

When did he leave?

After he got the money from Siu Lan...

"That despite all the terrible things she does,

"despite all reason and logic,

"Fung Lan truly cares for these girls

"It explains why she keeps coming up as I investigate these murders"

That despite all the terrible things she does,

despite all reason and logic,

Fung Lan truly cares for these girls

It explains why she keeps coming up as I investigate these murders

It gives her the motive I've been seeking,

for people will do terrible things for greed

Good riddance

But they will do far worse things...

for love

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