In The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is no such thing as "being in Cao Cao's heart is in Han", and this language does not refer to Xu Shu, but to Guan Yu. After Guan Yu and Liu Bei separated, he had to surrender to Cao Cao. Cao Cao paid tribute to Guan Yu. On the third day, he had a small banquet, and on the fifth day, he was given a title. However, Guan Yu was unmoved. Finally, he hung up the golden seal, left without saying goodbye, went through five customs and killed six generals, and met Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. Therefore, later generations called Guan Yu "being in the Han Dynasty". This is a popular saying, which can be heard in drama and Quyi. Later, this sentence is often used to describe people who miss their relatives in a different place, and also to describe people who are attached to the hostile party but yearn for the other side.

Xu Shu is a resourceful figure in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and once served as Liu Bei's military adviser. Later, because Cao Cao forged Xu's mother's handwriting and wrote a letter to Xu Shu, Xu Shu had to leave Liu Bei and go home to see his mother. Before leaving, Xu Shu once said to Liu Bei, "Even if Cao Cao forces me, I will never make plans." Later, there was a two-part allegorical saying, "Xu Shu went to find Cao Cao-without saying a word", which meant to keep silent.