The Three Kingdoms: The entire Cao Cao camp thought I was weak and frail.

Upon seeing this, Xun Hao quickly stepped forward, gently tugged at his brother's sleeve, and softly comforted him in an almost ingratiating tone.

"Brother, don't worry. I know what's important and won't cause Father any trouble."

His obedient and sensible appearance softened Xun Yu's heart, and most of his anger dissipated instantly. He sighed and waved his hand: "You can go now. Remember what I said."

Xun Kun's luggage was carried piece by piece into Xun Hao's usually quiet courtyard by the servants.

Boxes, books, writing brushes and ink, and even a low couch that he usually used.

Guo Jia was politely "invited" back to his own courtyard. Even moving his luggage had to be done secretly, for fear of being seen and causing trouble for his beloved.

He stood at the gate of his courtyard, gazing at the commotion over there.

Xun Yu stood on the only path between the two courtyards, like a gatekeeper, expressionlessly overseeing everything.

When Xun Hao saw off the servants who had arranged his luggage and walked out of the courtyard, their eyes met in the air.

One of them was filled with the message, "I'm so angry, but I have to hold it in."

One of them was filled with the words, "I'm having such a hard time, but I can't help it."

The door slowly closed in front of them, finally creaking shut and completely separating the two worlds.

Looking at Guo Jia's dejected expression, Xun Yu felt a lump in his throat, unable to breathe properly.

He stepped forward and spoke in an extremely restrained tone: "Am I the Queen Mother who separated you from the Milky Way? We see each other every day when we work together in the government office, so why are you so reluctant to part?"

"Queen Mother?" Guo Jia suddenly raised his head, his peach blossom eyes filled with accusation. "Give me a break! You're nothing more than a stick that separates lovers!"

Xun Yu gritted his teeth; his years of self-restraint prevented him from directly striking someone.

Guo Jia, however, paid no heed, saying, "As the saying goes, a day apart feels like three autumns. One night apart, and it feels like almost a year since I last saw Yanruo!"

"You...you..." Xun Yu's fingers trembled with rage at his shameless words. Was he even speaking human language?! In his thirty years of life, he had never seen such a brazen person!

Seeing his brother about to explode, Xun Hao, who was watching everything through the crack in the door, quickly squeezed out and said, "Brother, don't be angry. Fengxiao... he was just joking with you."

As he spoke, he glanced at Guo Jia out of the corner of his eye without making a sound.

Guo Jia, who had been having a good time being cheeky, received the signal and reluctantly shut his mouth.

On the third day after Xun Kun moved into Xun Hao's courtyard, Guo Jia knocked on the gate for the fifth time under the pretext of "discussing military affairs."

The one who opened the door was Xun Kun's old servant. When he saw Guo Jia, his face lit up with a smile, and he stepped aside to let him in.

"Young Master Fengxiao is here! Come in quickly, the master has been talking about you."

As Guo Jia stepped into the courtyard, he immediately saw Xun Kun setting up a chessboard in the stone pavilion and waving at him with great interest.

Opposite Xun Kun, Xun Hao sat upright, looking down at the chessboard. His moon-white robes made him appear even thinner.

Hearing the noise, Xun Hao looked up and his gaze briefly met Guo Jia's in the air before quickly looking away.

Guo Jia sighed inwardly, but maintained a polite smile as he stepped forward to greet Xun Gong.

"Sit, sit." Xun Kun pointed to the seat opposite him. "Yanruo is weak and can't sit for long. You've come at the right time, play a game with this old man."

What could Guo Jia say? He could only sit down as instructed.

Xun Hao silently counted in his mind. System battery level: 15%.

Since the incident with the grain supplies, he was worried that the powerful families would harbor resentment towards his lord, and even more worried that they would secretly collude to cause trouble again. He was also afraid that he was being too suspicious and had wronged Chen Gong, a meritorious official.

Weighing the two options, he could only resort to his "legacy plan" from time to time to secretly investigate Chen Gong's movements.

This continuous simulation caused his battery to drain quite quickly.

A game of chess ensued, a fierce and intense battle. Xun Kun was a skilled chess player and also loved discussing classical texts with others.

Guo Jia could only force himself to stay alert, but his eyes kept drifting uncontrollably towards Xun Hao beside him.

Xun Hao sat quietly to the side, serving tea to the two of them.

With his beloved right in front of him, yet untouchable, Guo Jia felt anxious, and his pace of placing pieces quickened considerably.

Finally, as Xun Kun turned to speak to the old servant, Guo Jia's hand, hidden under his wide sleeve, precisely found Xun Hao's hand under the table.

He quickly grasped it and rubbed it in his palm with his fingertips.

Xun Hao's fingers twitched almost imperceptibly. This brief contact lasted only a few breaths before Xun Kun turned back with the book in his hand. The two separated instantly like startled birds, but their clasped hands remained intertwined behind their sleeves.

A faint but clear warm current flowed into the body through the skin it touched, and the system's battery bar slowly jumped up by one bar.

Guo Jia took it as his lover's affection for him, and his heart softened with sweetness, so he held her even tighter. He even found Yan Ruo's dependence on him incredibly endearing.

However, Xun Hao felt that this amount of electricity was far from sufficient for monitoring Chen Gong, and could only be described as better than nothing.

Guo Jia was still not satisfied, and Xun Hao also felt that this kind of life of squeezing in every spare moment would never end.

That evening, Xun Yu caught his younger brother, Xun Hao, climbing over the wall with a ladder outside Xun Hao's courtyard. He dragged Xun Hao back and ordered his personal guards to watch over him.

Two days later, Guo Jia changed his excuse and visited Xun Hao again, saying he wanted to discuss his newly acquired calligraphy and paintings.

This time, the two did not sit down. Xun Kun pulled Guo Jia along, strolling in the courtyard while testing his knowledge. Xun Hao, holding the scroll of calligraphy and painting, silently followed behind them.

As their conversation deepened, Xun Hao felt that Guo Jia seemed to be radiating light.

No matter how tricky his father Xun Kun's questions were, from classical texts to military strategy, from celestial phenomena to people's livelihood, Guo Jia could always answer fluently and with ease.

His words were not empty quotations, but rather incorporated his own insights, sometimes sharp and sometimes unconventional, always prompting Xun Kun to stroke his beard in deep thought, and occasionally even to utter a word or two of praise.

Is this the style of a top academic genius?

Xun Hao followed behind the two, his gaze almost glued to Guo Jia's tall and straight back. The man was facing sideways to him, his jawline clean and sharp, and when he spoke, there was a natural, subtle curve at the corner of his lips. His eyes shone brightly in the afternoon sunlight.

Perhaps he was too focused on what he was looking at, he didn't notice a moss-covered pebble under his feet, slipped, and fell backward toward Guo Jia's back.

Guo Jia was lost in thought when he suddenly felt something soft behind him, and a cool, refreshing fragrance rushed into his arms. He instinctively turned around, opened his arms, and steadily caught the person who was falling, pulling him into his embrace.

"Yanruo, be careful, I'll support you." The hand holding Xun Hao's wrist, however, took advantage of the cover of the wide sleeve and slid upwards.

Just then, a spoilsporting voice came from outside the moon gate.