With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 70, A Free-spirited and Unconventional Genius
The young master was somewhat angry and said to Guo Jia, "You're a strange person. What's it to you?"

Guo Jia stared straight at him and sneered, "It seems you're all talk and no action. You? You have no sincerity whatsoever, yet you want to pursue her? Dream on."

Turning around, Guo Jia looked at the woman in the red dress and smiled the most amiable smile on his face. "Although we are complete strangers, if it were me, I would do anything just to make her smile."

After saying that, Guo Jia flicked his sleeve, gave the man a disdainful look, and then turned and left.

"Who is he? This is ridiculous." The man's name was Zhao Ming, courtesy name Yanming. He looked at Guo Jia's back and felt very annoyed.

The woman's eyes lit up, as if she had been inspired. "Yanming, I think what that person said makes sense. Don't you like me? Let me ask you, are you willing to do anything for me?"

This immediately stumped Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming hesitated, opened his mouth, his face turning red, "Yunzhu, I'm sincere towards you, there's no need to listen to that person's nonsense."

The woman named Yunzhu shook her head in disappointment. "It seems he was right. You won't do anything for me."

After saying that, Yunzhu turned and left, and Zhao Ming hurriedly chased after her.

"Don't follow me."

Yunzhu stopped and said coldly, feeling an even greater sense of disgust towards Zhao Ming.

Yunzhu continued walking forward, and Zhao Ming followed. Just as she was becoming increasingly dissatisfied, Guo Jia reappeared and blocked Zhao Ming's way. "I said, people don't want to talk to you anymore, so why are you still clinging on? Enough is enough."

"It's all your fault."

Zhao Ming was furious and tried to push Guo Jia. Although Guo Jia was a strategist, he was not weak. He stepped back lightly, dodged the attack, and then stepped back again, leading Zhao Ming directly to the riverbank.

Before long, Zhao Ming took a step forward, fell into Guo Jia's trap, and with a splash, he used too much force and couldn't stop himself, falling into the river.

This amused everyone around them, and Liu Xie and Cao Ying laughed non-stop.

Liu Xie clapped his hands and said, "Fengxiao, he really is something else, always scheming against others."

Yunzhu couldn't help but laugh too. Her cold and beautiful face broke into a wide smile, as if an iceberg had suddenly melted.

Guo Jia clapped his hands and said, "I am glad that you made me smile. My trip today has been worthwhile. If you don't mind, let's get to know each other."

And so, Cao Ying watched helplessly as the woman in the red dress and Guo Jia walked away chatting and laughing, leaving Zhao Ming, who had just barely managed to climb out of the water like a drowned rat, standing there dumbfounded.

He was treated like a clown, surrounded and mocked!

"This...this is unbelievable!"

Cao Ying pouted, finding it hard to believe, and muttered, "It seems that the woman in red and that man have known each other for a long time. How could she have followed Guo Jijiu just because of a few words from him?"

Liu Xie laughed and explained, "Guo Jia is a master of winning hearts and minds. From the beginning, he could tell that the man was in love but the woman was not. The woman simply didn't like the man. Guo Jia made a few appropriate provocations, and the man couldn't prove his sincerity, so the woman naturally became even more disappointed."

"But they can't be walking side by side so quickly, can they? That's too casual."

Cao Ying was still quite naive. Liu Xie said, "Because this woman has already lost hope in that man, in order to make him give up completely, she made Guo Jia walk with her. Firstly, it's out of admiration, and secondly, it's to make that man feel humiliated so that he won't bother her anymore."

"Guo Jia, from beginning to end, did not focus his attention on the woman like the lecherous rogue. This made it easy for him to win her favor. Besides, they were not trying to fall in love. Guo Jia was just enjoying making the woman smile, and the woman used him as a shield. It was a win-win situation, and neither of them lost out."

"Oh, I see." Cao Ying finally understood.

"But I still find it unbelievable. Two people who have known each other for so long, yet Guo Jijiu just suddenly appeared and broke them up." Liu Xie said disdainfully, "What's there to miss about a man who can't even make a woman smile!"

Cao Ying frowned and thought about it seriously for a while. What Liu Xie said seemed to make a lot of sense.

Although most men and women follow the wishes of their parents and the words of matchmakers, if the other person cannot even make the woman next to him smile, then it is indeed not a good match.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the marriage customs were relatively open. For example, women could remarry, which was not only common but also not discriminated against.

From the end of the Han Dynasty onwards, the status of women began to plummet, becoming deeply controlled by feudal ideology.

Besides, the men and women on Liuhe Bridge are all sons and daughters of high-ranking officials and nobles, so they naturally have more freedom.

Guo Jia was witty and humorous, and also skilled at composing poems and lyrics. He quickly made Yun Zhu laugh, and the two became much more harmonious.

Moreover, Guo Jia stopped there, and after chatting for a while, he took the initiative to leave without lingering, which made Yunzhu somewhat reluctant to part with him.

As soon as Guo Jia sat down upon his return, Liu Xie gave him a thumbs up, saying, "Brilliant! He stopped short of the target, playing hard to get. No wonder you're the genius Guo Fengxiao."

"A genius?" This title made Guo Jia's eyes light up.

After chatting for a while, the topic changed, and Liu Xie said with concern, "Fengxiao, I must remind you, you should try to quit taking Five-Stone Powder as soon as possible. That stuff will harm your health if you take it often."

Guo Jia stared intently at Liu Xie for a long while.

"What's wrong? There's nothing on my face."

"Young Master Liu, you seem to care about me quite a bit," Guo Jia said with a sigh, then looked away.

He was always very good at judging people, and he saw genuine sincerity in Liu Xie's eyes.

This moved Guo Jia, but also left him somewhat puzzled.

Because he was Cao Cao's man! He would instinctively be wary and keep his distance from the emperor.

"If you can't do whatever you want, what's the point of life?" Guo Jia said with a smile.

Liu Xie shook his head. Guo Jia was an interesting person and would be a good friend. He really didn't want him to die young.

But he himself didn't care, he did whatever he wanted, and what he pursued was freedom.

…………

Although Lady Ding was Cao Cao's principal wife, Cao Cao's favorite was Lady Bian. Although Cao Cao occasionally sought novelty, such as during this trip to Wancheng when he took Lady Zou as his concubine, he didn't even care about the lives and safety of so many soldiers.

But not long after returning to Xuchang, as the novelty wore off, Cao Cao preferred to sleep with Lady Bian more often.

Lady Bian was more considerate and sensible, and Cao Cao was very satisfied with her in every way.

Men? They're all pretty much the same. The novelty always wears off. Only those who are considerate and understand you can last!

Although Cao Cao respected Lady Ding, she was old and not particularly beautiful. When they were together, they respected each other more than they had intimate conversations.

Therefore, for Liu Xie, Lady Bian was a formidable opponent!

Bian Shi, Cao Pi, and the Eight Tiger Cavalry of the Cao Family—all of these men were Liu Xie's match!
(End of this chapter)