The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Chapter 957: Chapter 957: The Song Family’s Good Intentions

The idler slinked away in defeat, causing the surrounding people to burst into laughter, praising Song Ci for her discerning eyes that no demon could escape.

Song Ci said, ”You flatter me, fellow villagers. I don’t have any special insight; I just have a quick temper and can’t stand those people causing trouble on purpose. Our Prime Minister’s Mansion doesn’t bother to use small acts of charity to gain a good reputation. We genuinely want to do our small part to bring some joy to everyone.”

”Madam, you don’t need to say more, we understand.”

Song Ci exchanged a few more polite pleasantries and then left, surrounded by her servants.

Not far away, a man dressed as a commoner passed a small package of roast pork, two buns, a red egg, and some candies to a maid standing by the carriage.

The maid got on the carriage and handed the items to Wan Chun, who was sitting inside.

Looking at these items, Wan Chun hesitated and looked at the Princess Consort: ”Mistress, do you really want to try them?”

To the poor, this kind of food seems like a divine blessing, but the mistress might never have even seen it.

The mistress is of noble birth, how could she eat such coarse food?

”It’s harmless to try a bit and share in the joy of the Song Family,” the Princess Consort said with a smile.

Seeing her insist, Wan Chun opened the package, poured the contents onto a dish inside the carriage, and wrapped a pair of chopsticks in a cloth to hand to her.

The skin of the roast pork was a golden brown, the sliced pork belly emitted a bit of aroma. The buns were made of coarse flour, as big as a man’s fist, one savory, one sweet, and they had already lost much of their warmth.

The Princess Consort picked up a piece of roast pork first and ate it, chewing carefully, then went for a bun, taking a bite to reveal the filling inside.

Wan Chun exclaimed, ”Mistress, the filling is mostly fatty meat, you should stop eating it.”

Her mistress always ate delicately, choosing only the finest cut of meat, and never had fatty meat.

But in this bun filling, it was chopped fatty meat with cabbage, looking greasy, with little sign of lean meat.

”Since the Prime Minister’s Mansion is making this donation, they don’t lack that bit of silver, why not use lean meat for the filling?” Wan Chun frowned, ”I heard that the Second Madam of the Song Family comes from a merchant background, with a very rich dowry.”

The Princess Consort, having taken just one bite, set it aside and smiled, ”Granny Lai came from a farming family; why don’t you give Wan Chun a lesson?”

Granny Lai, kneeling by the carriage door, laughed when she heard this, ”Wan Chun, you don’t understand. In an ordinary farming family, those truly poor won’t see much oil throughout the year, only during festivals. Hence, they favor those fatty meats because it’s oily and more filling.”

Wan Chun was taken aback.

”And that’s just poor families; those fleeing from famine can’t even fill their bellies. Fatty meat, compared to lean meat, provides a better sense of fullness. The Song Family’s charity intentions are genuine; coarse flour fills better than fine flour, and with the bit of oil, one meat bun might be more satisfying than two lean ones.”

”Look at this roast pork, marinated and then roasted, ready to eat directly. This small package, with pork belly interspersed with lean and bits of bone, seems deliberately portioned to not serve all the best pork belly in one pack, allowing more people to taste it, showing their thoughtfulness.”

Wan Chun blushed and glanced at her mistress, ”So that’s how it is; I was ignorant.”

The Princess Consort smiled, ”You’ve served me since you were young, so naturally you wouldn’t understand the lives of the truly impoverished. It’s not your fault.”

Wan Chun stuck out her tongue playfully.