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

Xun Hao remained silent for a long time.

He knew that, rationally speaking, Guo Jia was right. How could a modern man well-versed in history not understand the cruel laws of a chaotic world?

Understanding is one thing, but personally pushing the fate of tens of thousands of people toward an unknown future is quite another.

Those were not cold words, not indifferent lines of history, but living, breathing people.

"I just..." he finally spoke, his voice still slightly nasal, "...feeling uncomfortable."

"That's right." Guo Jia breathed a sigh of relief. "If you used this plan and still feel at ease, then I should be worried. If you feel uncomfortable, it means you still know respect and right from wrong. Yanruo, we are strategists, not butchers. We use strategies to end this chaotic world, not to enjoy the thrill of calculating lives."

He reached out and pulled Xun Hao's head to rest on his shoulder, the movement as natural as if he had done it a thousand times before. "We strategists can't always follow the way of the gentleman."

Xun Hao leaned on his shoulder, feeling that familiar warmth, and the weight that had been pressing on his heart finally lifted. "Suddenly I feel so sentimental."

Guo Jia chuckled softly, the vibrations of his chest transmitting through the thin fabric of his clothes, making Xun Hao's cheeks flush.

Xun Hao slept exceptionally soundly. The familiar warmth flowed comfortably through his limbs and bones, quickly replenishing the "energy" he had used to calculate the location of the Poison Family's hideout using the [Legacy Plan].

As dawn broke, Guo Jia emerged from Xun Hao's courtyard, stretched, and his joints made a soft cracking sound.

He was humming a tuneless little tune, preparing to go for a stroll in the street, when suddenly a head peeked out from behind the moon gate next to him.

"Fengxiao." Xi Zhicai lowered his voice and beckoned to him furtively.

Guo Jia stopped and looked at him, finding it somewhat amusing: "It's so early in the morning, why aren't you resting inside? Why are you here getting chilled?"

Xi Zhicai rushed over, grabbed Guo Jia's sleeve, and dragged him into his own courtyard without saying a word. "Quick, someone's looking for you."

Guo Jia was pulled along by him as they entered Xi Zhicai's courtyard. At the stone table in the courtyard, Xun Yu sat upright, his expression not particularly pleasant. Beside him, Xun You was slowly brewing tea. Upon seeing them enter, Xun You glanced up, a gesture that served as a greeting.

This setup looks like a joint trial.

Xi Zhicai pressed Guo Jia down onto the stone bench, while he stepped aside, adopting a purely spectator's stance.

Xun Hao was not in a good mood last night. Xun Yu wanted to comfort him personally, but Xun You stopped him, saying there was no need to rush. This morning, they lingered at Xun Hao's door and were pulled into the courtyard by Xi Zhicai, who got up early.

Xun Yu's gaze fell on Guo Jia, his eyes devoid of warmth.

"Fengxiao," Xun Yu began, his voice steady yet carrying a sense of pressure, "do you often stay in Yanruo's courtyard?"

Xi Zhicai pricked up his ears, and even Xun You slowed down his tea-making process by a fraction of a second.

Guo Jia looked at Xun Yu's murderous expression with a relaxed expression.

He picked up the empty cup on the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea that Xun You had just brewed, took a slow sip, and then spoke.

"Brother Wenruo, you are mistaken," he said, putting down his teacup with a slight smile on his lips. "It's not often."

Xun Yu's expression softened slightly. He thought that perhaps he was overthinking things. Yan Ruo was frail, and although Fengxiao was unruly, he knew his limits. Perhaps he had been discussing matters late last night and was just going to visit him.

Just as his heart began to ease, Guo Jia's next words crashed into the calm lake like a boulder.

"I've always lived there."

Xun Yu's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air. His expression shifted from slight relief to astonishment, and then to fury, all in a mere instant.

He slammed the teacup down heavily on the stone table with a "thud," splashing tea everywhere.

"Guo Fengxiao!"

Xun Wenruo cherished his younger brother like a precious jewel, afraid of dropping him if he held him in his hands or melting him if he kept him in his mouth. And yet... he actually got tricked into living with this scoundrel? This is outrageous!

"Uncle, Uncle, please calm down!" Xun You reacted quickly and grabbed Xun Yu, who was about to rush over.

Xi Zhicai watched in awe. He had long suspected something was off between the two, but he never imagined it would escalate to this point.

Guo Fengxiao, this scoundrel, actually harbors a wolfish heart that dares to do the most outrageous things.

Guo Jia, however, seemed oblivious to Xun Yu's anger; he even had the leisure to lament the spilled cup of fine tea.

He looked up at Xun Yu, who was being held tightly by Xun You, and showed no sign of guilt.

"The residence assigned to me by the lord is a bit far from Yanruo's courtyard, which is inconvenient," he explained, his tone so frank it was infuriating. "Yanruo is frail and often feels unwell at night. If I live closer, it will be easier to take care of her if anything happens. Come to think of it, I probably go back to my own courtyard only a handful of times."

These words seemed perfectly reasonable, but it was precisely this "reason" that made Xun Yu even angrier.

What do you mean by "inconvenient"? What do you mean by "taking care"? This is what he, as the elder brother, should do! Who do you think you are, Guo Fengxiao?

Xun You clung tightly to his uncle's waist, earnestly advising, "Uncle, please calm down! You know Uncle Yanruo's temperament. If he doesn't want to, who can force him? This matter must have been agreed to by Uncle Yanruo himself."

These words finally calmed Xun Yu down a bit. Yes, Yan Ruo may seem aloof, but he actually has a lot of ideas.

If he doesn't agree, even if Guo Jia has great abilities, he won't be able to step into his courtyard.

But the thought of his own tender little cabbage being devoured by a pig that didn't seem very well-behaved made him feel suffocated.

"Yanruo... he's just too soft-hearted." Xun Yu slumped down, his tone full of frustration. "He clearly schemes against people's hearts, but he can't get over his own conscience. I'm afraid he'll get stuck in a rut and make himself sick."

Xi Zhicai listened from the side, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly. Soft-hearted? To be able to manipulate Yu Du and Liu Dai at will, and even scheme against the entire aristocratic families of Yanzhou, is that what you call soft-hearted? Xun Wenruo's filter is probably as thick as a city wall.

He wisely refrained from refuting.

Surprisingly, Guo Jia nodded in agreement.

"Brother Wenruo is right." His expression turned serious, and his tone became earnest. "Yanruo is just like that, demanding too much of himself, always using the standards of a sage to criticize himself. He must have felt bad about what happened yesterday. I stayed with him last night because I was afraid he would overthink things."

The two reached a surprising consensus on the point that "Xun Hao is a pitiful little guy who needs to be protected and has a pure heart."

Xun Yu glanced at Guo Jia suspiciously. Seeing that his expression was sincere and not feigned, his anger subsided somewhat. Looking at Guo Jia's protective demeanor, as if saying "it's all good for my own child," a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind.