In order to commend Cao Cao's contribution to defeating Yuan Shao, Liu Xie issued an edict to promote Cao Cao to the position of Sikong. Coupled with Cao Cao's previous tolerant attitude towards the court who was worried and flattered Yuan Shao, his status was more powerful and stable on the original basis.

After accepting the enthronement, Cao Cao sat proudly on the couch and looked at Guo Jia with gratitude:

"Fengxiao, fortunately, you helped me overcome the difficulties this time. I really don't know how to thank you..."

Guo Jia bowed slightly to express his gratitude: "Ming Gong has today's prosperity all depends on your wise decision and unique courage. If it weren't for this, even if we made a brilliant plan, it would be useless..."

Before he finished speaking, Guo Jia felt a sudden severe pain in his chest, which made Guo Jia unable to continue talking and covered his chest with his right hand. Seeing that his face was so pale, Cao Cao knew that his physical condition had begun to deteriorate. He was worried that Cao Cao found that although Guo Jia was handsome and talented, he was always alone and had no one to take care of him. From then on, Cao Cao put Guo Jia's lifelong affairs in his heart and secretly looked for a woman for him to take care of his life.

Holding the sick body back to his residence, Guo Jia slowly moved to the couch and sat down with his knees bent.

After a long time, he slowly returned to his bloody color, but his aura was still weak and unable to move.

"Brother Fengxiao!"

Just as he closed his eyes and rested, he suddenly heard someone calling him outside the door. Judging from the sound and name, he knew it was Zhang Ning.

Although his body was very weak, Guo Jia still didn't want people to see his true physical condition, so he forced himself to stand up and walk to the door to greet him. When he walked to the door, he realized that it was not only Zhang Ning, but also his brother Zhang He and Sima Yi.

"The visit of the three great masters really makes my humble house shine..."

Guo Jia had a rather bleak and powerless smile on his face, which made Sima Yi, who knew his physical condition, a little worried. However, when he was in Guandu, Guo Jia had instructed him: he must not reveal his short-term affairs.

When Sima Yi saw Guo Jia's firm and determined look, he couldn't help but agree to his request.

In fact, it was not just Sima Yi, but Zhang He also found that Guo Jia's expression was not very good. After Guo Jia invited them into the house to sit, the first sentence he said was: "Long-term excessive drinking is harmful to the body. You see, your complexion is so bad at the age of 30."

Guo Jia gently picked up the hot teacup and smiled:

"I really can't tell that you, Zhang He, will care about me, which is really flattering."

Zhang Ning next to him also noticed that Guo Jia's face was not good through Zhang He's words. He seemed to be in a bad state. He cared very much and reminded Guo Jia: "Just listen to my elder brother. Don't be too tired and drink less wine."

Seeing that Zhang Ning was so affectionate about her tone, Sima Yi realized that Zhang Ning seemed to have a good impression of him, and Guo Jia was not a confused person. He turned to look at the Zhang He and his sister sitting opposite him and raised their eyebrows slightly:

"Haha, what's wrong with you brother and sister? This sounds like I, Guo Fengxiao, are your subordinates..."

After saying goodbye to Zhang He and his sister, Sima Yi stood beside Guo Jia and refused to leave for a long time.

Guo Jia could see that Sima Yi had something to say, but he was unable to support his body, so he crossed his hands into the sleeve tube, and put his right shoulder on the door frame and looked at Sima Yi: "If you have anything you want to ask, please ask, don't keep it in your heart."

Sima Yi turned around and looked at Guo Jia's relaxed and comfortable expression. After hesitating for a long time, he spoke:

"You probably know..."

"What do you know?" Guo Jia had already guessed what Sima Yi said in his heart, but he still wanted to avoid it.

Finally, Sima Yi decided not to go around in circles but to ask straightforwardly:

"Your body can't last long, don't hide it from me. Who is the person who keeps poisoning you?"

This question suddenly made Guo Jia's originally optimistic and leisurely expression frozen instantly. He turned away from the door frame supporting his body and moved forward slightly for two steps, looking at Sima Yi very seriously:

"How did you know?"

"Poison?"

Before Sima Yi could answer him, he heard Zhang Ning's words standing by the wall not far behind Guo Jia.

The situation was completely broken. Zhang Ning, an outsider, was present. Seeing that he could not continue to ask questions, Guo Jia had to quickly turn around his solemn mood and force himself to smile and said, "Why haven't you left yet?"

Zhang Ning did not answer Guo Jia's words, but went straight forward and asked Sima Yi in a questioning tone:

"Zhongda, what do you mean by what you just said to keep poisoning? Who wants to harm Brother Fengxiao?"

Suddenly, Sima Yi was in chaos because of Zhang Ning's appearance, and hesitated and could not answer for a moment:

"This...I..."

Seeing that Guo Jia was not going to answer her question, Zhang Ning's eyes were red, and tears were almost thrusting down her eyes:

"How long will you have?"

Seeing that he could not escape Zhang Ning's questioning, Guo Jia simply put his heart on his mind and said to Zhang Ning with a tough tone:

"This is my own business and it has nothing to do with you, so you don't have to worry about it."

After saying that, Guo Jia turned around and raised his hands to close the door and never came out again.

What Guo Jia did not expect was that the next day Zhang Ning moved all his luggage to Guo Jia's residence, with the purpose of taking care of Guo Jia's life, which made Guo Jia at a loss. He also very opposed Zhang Ning's self-decisive behavior:

"Miss Zhang Ning, I am not close to you, but you, a girl who is not married, don't you feel too reckless when you come to my single man's home? It will be very unfavorable to your future reputation..."

However, Zhang Ning ignored Guo Jia's advice and continued to do his own thing:

"I'll tell you clearly here. I don't know what you think of me, or what kind of reputation you have. In short, no matter how you drive me away, I won't leave here, so don't waste your time."

"you..."

Guo Jia now realized that Zhang Ning had a deep affection for him, but considering his physical condition and the fact that he loved Cai Yan alone in his heart, Guo Jia really didn't want to delay Zhang Ning's second half of his life, so he firmly let him leave.

Just when the two were arguing, Cao Cao had already arrived at Guo Jia's doorstep. Seeing the two of them confronting each other, Cao Cao had already guessed the reason: "Fengxiao, your house is so lively today."

Seeing Cao Cao coming, Guo Jia and Zhang Ning hurriedly saluted Cao Cao: "I have met Cao Gong."

Cao Cao waved his hand: "Hey... there is no need to be such a polite thing between you and me."

While speaking, Cao Cao looked at Zhang Ning up and down, and suddenly remembered the situation where she broke into Guandu camp alone to report the news. He had an idea in his mind and said to Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, have you lived here alone for so long?"

Guo Jia lowered his head slightly and answered truthfully: "Yes."

Cao Cao sat on the stone bench in the courtyard and put his right hand on the stone platform and continued to ask: "I remember well, Fengxiao, you are over today, right? Why haven't you been married for a long time? Ang'er was five or six years old when you were as old as you."

This question made it difficult for Guo Jia to speak of. He knew that his reputation had spread all over the world without realizing it, especially Hebei occupied by Yuan Shao, which was very close to the Shanyu court of King Zuo Xian. If the past between him and Cai Yan was known by the world and Yuan Shao used it as a threat, he and Cai Yan would be in a dilemma.

After waiting for Guo Jia for a long time, Cao Cao looked at Zhang Ning next to Guo Jia:

"Miss Zhang family, what do you think of Guo Jia?"

Zhang Ning replied: "Guo Jia is a talented person in the world. His talent and knowledge are different from ordinary people, but he is not a thing in the pool."

After hearing Zhang Ning's praise of Guo Jia, Cao Cao shook his head after hearing this:

"No, right? I'm not asking you this. What I asked is that if you betrothed Guo Jia as your wife, would you like?"

When he heard this, Guo Jia quickly bowed and prepared to say something to interrupt Cao Cao's topic, but Cao Cao reached out to stop him:

"I know your physical condition. I need someone to take care of you. I see Miss Zhang Ning coming to you regardless of her reputation. It shows that her friendship with you is deep, so you should not let others down."

In the end, Guo Jia could only remain silent. Seeing that he was so hesitant and did not want to make things difficult for him, Zhang Ning spoke first:

"The little woman thanked Lord Sikong for his kindness. It was just that I came to take care of Guo Jia's life not for the sake of status, but I couldn't bear to see him being ill but no one cared about it. Since Mr. Guo Jia didn't have this intention, there was no need to force him."

Even Zhang Ning said this, Cao Cao had to give up. However, this incident caused great turmoil in Guo Jia's heart...

The news that Cao Cao was rejected as a mediator reached Zhang He's ears, and he immediately broke into Guo Jia's residence with the spear in his hand.

Seeing Zhang He's aggressive look, Guo Jia was prepared for it. He put down the Shu Jian in his hand and looked up at the red feathered horn gun in Zhang He's hand with a cold light: "What? Do you want to kill me?"

Zhang He, who gritted his teeth, was silent for a long time, and then stabbed the spear in his hand straight at the bamboo slips on Guo Jia's desk. The fragments of the bamboo slips instantly flew away in the air and fell to the ground one after another.

Faced with this situation, Guo Jia was still unmoved, and Zhang He stared at Guo Jia's eyes with a very cold look:

"Do you know that Ning'er refused Yuan Xi and Mrs. Liu's forced marriage for you regardless of your own life. She did not hesitate to threaten women with a reputation that is more important than life. Don't you think it's too cruel to treat him like this?"

Guo Jia had never heard of this. When he learned from Zhang He that Zhang Ning refused to marry, his expression changed drastically. He immediately stood up and pushed Zhang He away and walked towards the room where Zhang Ning lived.

In Guo Jia's opinion, Zhang Ning is just as stupid as herself...

When the breathless Guo Jia walked quickly to Zhang Ning's door, he saw Zhang Ning sitting alone on the edge of the bed, holding something in his hand, and watching it intently. Guo Jia, calmly noticed that what she was holding in her right palm seemed to be what she had lost before.

After thinking about it carefully, he recalled that when he first met Zhang He and his sister, it was when Zhang He was ordered to capture him in Yingchuan to go to Yecheng. At first, Zhang He and his sister did not know that he was Guo Jia, and he did not know their true purpose, so the three of them met frankly and had a good conversation. When both sides realized the other party's identity and Guo Jia refused to serve, the iron lock was later added.

When Zhang He forced Guo Jia to lock up Guo Jia and wanted to take him back to Yecheng, the coat that Guo Jia was wearing was torn to the ground. Zhang Ning, who fell in love with Guo Jia at first sight, was also determined to let Guo Jia go to Yecheng, so she did not stop him. After discovering Guo Jia's torn coat, she secretly put it away.

Later, the brother and sister separated from Guo Jia at Sima Yi's home. Zhang Ning did not return the clothes to leave a memory. After returning to Yecheng, she carefully repaired the outer clothes and kept them carefully, intending to wear them on him when she met Guo Jia again.

Noting that Guo Jia was standing at the door, Zhang Ning quickly stuffed the clothes that had been repaired under the pillow, afraid that Guo Jia would see them.

However, this obvious behavior was seen by Guo Jia without any omission. He was not in a hurry to ask about clothes. He asked softly in an extremely gentle tone with a faint smile on his face:

"May I come inside?"

Zhang Ning felt her cheeks were hot and she kept her head down and did not dare to look at Guo Jia, fearing that his behavior would bore him.

After entering the house, Guo Jia walked straight to Zhang Ning's side, lowered his eyes and looked at the corners of the white clothes exposed at the corners of the pillow, then bent down slightly and took out his clothes under the pillow, put them in his hand and looked at them carefully.

Seeing this, Zhang Ning felt at a loss. His hands placed on his legs and knees were tightly clenched into fists, and he was nervous.

"You made it well, and I almost couldn't tell it had broken."

Guo Jia was also in a very heavy mood. He put his clothes back on the bed and sat next to Zhang Ning. Zhang Ning had never been so close to Guo Jia when he was alone. Every word Guo Jia said made her heart beat even harder, as if the tide was rushing. This violent heartbeat rhythm made her almost unable to breathe.

After a while of silence, Guo Jia's solemn eyebrows gradually stretched out. He bent down and crossed his fingers to look ahead:

"I am very grateful and frightened to tell me the truth like this. You are a good girl. You shouldn't have wasted your precious feelings on me. Now I might as well tell you the truth. I have lived a lot of poison in my body for seven years. If you marry me, you will ruin your life, and I..."

When talking about Cai Yan's problem, Guo Jia's tone became slightly choked:

"Besides, there is a woman in my heart that will never be touched. If you accept you, it will be cruel and hurt you."

Zhang Ning, who was originally very panicked, nervous and even at a loss, heard what Guo Jia said, and the ups and downs in her heart gradually calmed down. After listening to every word and every sentence Guo Jia said quietly, she finally understood why Guo Jia resisted her so much.

After saying what he was most reluctant to say to others, Guo Jia saw that Zhang Ning was sitting beside him without any response, so he planned to say his last sentence, that is: You should go find your own happiness...

However, when Guo Jia's face was just facing Zhang Ning's sideways and was about to say it, Zhang Ning stretched out his hands and held Guo Jia's cheek, then pressed his face to Guo Jia, and then kissed his lips...

Guo Jia, who was as if he was electrocuted, no longer had his usual cleverness and clarity. He was shocked by Zhang Ning's sudden crazy behavior. With his eyes widened, he seemed to feel that his heartbeat had completely stopped.
Chapter completed!