The stout woman smiled, "I know you're embarrassed to come in. Since that's the case, I've packed all the delicious food here for you. I'll tell you, these pastries can be kept for three days. If you finish them and still want more, just come back to me." She smiled at Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao looked at the stout woman's solicitous expression and then at the bundle she was eagerly handing over. "This bundle is far too conspicuous. When I go back, if someone sees it and then reports me to the general, I'll be finished," she said from her perspective, then reached out and pushed the stout woman's hand. "Just pick out four or five pieces from inside and wrap them with a handkerchief. I can't accept this."
"But I don't have a handkerchief," the stout woman appeared distressed, then lowered her gaze to the bundle. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have an idea." With that, she leaned a step closer.
Seeing this, Mu Anxiao was genuinely startled by the stout woman. "What are you doing?" she asked, frowning and deliberately stepping back.
The stout woman chuckled, "I see your clothes are quite loose, so I thought I'd help you tuck this bundle into your bosom. That way," she said, convinced her idea was sound, "no one will see you holding anything."
Hearing the stout woman's words, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but show a bitter expression. "Yes, they won't see that I'm holding something, but," she looked down at her loose clothing and then up at the stout woman, continuing, "I'm a man. Stuffing things into my bosom, what kind of propriety is that?"
"We have several servants here with little bellies. Just pretend..." The stout woman was amused by her own idea, "that it's your little belly."
However, Mu Anxiao didn't find the stout woman's words funny at all. On the contrary, she was angered by the stout woman's laughter. "I say, can you be a little more serious? I'm a grown man. When I go back, I'm like this," she gestured in front of herself, continuing, "and when I come out, I won't be like this. How will people see me then?" She finished, her face flushing red.
"But I still don't have a handkerchief," the stout woman, after hearing Mu Anxiao's words, abandoned her self-amusing thoughts and became timid.
Mu Anxiao calmly looked at the stout woman's troubled expression, then glanced at the bundle still held out by the stout woman. After a moment's thought, she said, "How can you, a woman, not even have a handkerchief? Really, are you even a woman?" Saying this, she took the bundle.
Instantly, as Mu Anxiao took the bundle, the stout woman let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for understanding me. Then you..." she watched Mu Anxiao cautiously, "how do you plan to take this bundle back?" She was concerned about Mu Anxiao's earlier words.
Mu Anxiao, holding the bundle, looked at the stout woman who was still concerned about her and sighed. "I'm starving right now. I can't have you take it back, can I? Anyway," she said, reaching her hand into the bundle through a gap, "I'm new here, they won't suspect anything of me. I..." Mu Anxiao suddenly froze at this point.
In the next moment, as Mu Anxiao froze, the stout woman began to step back. "Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked softly, as if afraid of offending Mu Anxiao.
Mu Anxiao noticed the stout woman's movement and casually called out, "Don't retreat," then took a step forward and handed the bundle back to the stout woman.
It must be said, this stout woman's physique was quite plump. Her running speed was about the same as Mu Anxiao's walking speed. Because she knew this about herself, she chose to leave quietly. Who knew that her sheer bulk would be spotted by Mu Anxiao. Thinking it was her bad luck, she obediently stopped.
"What are you doing?" she asked, feigning ignorance, and looked down at the bundle in Mu Anxiao's hand.
Mu Anxiao deliberately remained silent, quietly watching the stout woman feigning ignorance. She sighed lightly and then took a money pouch from the bundle and offered it to the stout woman.
Upon seeing this, the stout woman's guilty expression surfaced. "What are you doing?" she asked, playing dumb. "It's just a few pastries, you don't need to give me money, it's too formal." She glanced left and right, as if afraid of being seen and caught.
Meanwhile, Mu Anxiao calmly watched the stout woman, who was staging a performance for herself, and said nothing, just waiting to see what further act she would put on.
Seeing that Mu Anxiao remained silent, the stout woman also felt a bit awkward. She then reached out and held Mu Anxiao's hand holding the money pouch, whispering, "This is just a small token of my appreciation. If you don't like the food from the kitchen, go out and buy some. It's alright, don't be embarrassed." She leaned in slightly, smiling at Mu Anxiao at close range.
One does not accept favors without reason. The stout woman's actions couldn't help but remind Mu Anxiao of the demon soul who had first bribed her. At that time, the demon soul had the same expression as the stout woman now. Mu Anxiao hadn't paid attention then and had accepted the silver. In the end, she was inexplicably caught by the demon soul. At that time, she had only recently left Shen Yan and was already in a bad mood, depressed, so she hadn't thought much about it, just spent money wildly to relieve her stress.
Who would have thought that as soon as her mood improved, that demon soul who had given her silver for free would bring Hei Feng and accuse her of forcing it, saying all sorts of wrongful things. It made her almost believe she was a scoundrel.
Fortunately, Hei Feng was smart and saw through the demon soul's lie. However, he didn't expose the demon soul; instead, he returned the silver on her behalf, apologized, and thus naturally caught the demon soul. In the end, because of that incident, she owed Hei Feng money and a debt of gratitude.
Yet, Mu Anxiao still hadn't returned the silver to Hei Feng, so whenever she thought about it, she felt uneasy. At that moment, she decided to repay Hei Feng. Thinking this, she looked at the solicitous stout woman before her and said, "You want to harm me?" She completely equated the stout woman with that demon soul.
Upon hearing this, the stout woman stiffened, then became solicitous again. "Young man, how can you say that about me? I don't intend to harm you. Besides," she smiled, "you're a person close to the general. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't dare."
"If you didn't dare, then by giving me silver, you've already exposed yourself," Mu Anxiao said coldly, and immediately dropped the bag of silver at the stout woman's feet.
The stout woman froze.