가후
When Jia Xu later served as Left Adjunct (左馮翊), Li Jue and Dong Zhuo's loyalists wanted to reward him by making him a marquis, but Jia Xu said, "That suggestion I made was meant to save your lives. What merit have I achieved to deserve a reward?" He declined to accept the marquis title. Later on, when he was nominated to serve as a Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (尚書僕射), he said: "The Supervisor of the Masters of Writing is like a tutor to officials. I don't have a strong reputation so I am afraid I might not be able to convince people that I am suited for this appointment. What will become of the imperial court if I accept this appointment for my personal glory?" He was then assigned to be a Master of Writing (尚書) instead, and was tasked with selecting candidates to serve in the government. Li Jue and the others regarded him highly but were also wary of him. The candidates Jia Xu chose tend to be officials who formerly served in the previous administration. Jia Xu came under some criticisms for his mode of selecting government officials. When there were tensions between Li Jue, Guo Si and Fan Chou, with their respective subordinates urging them to go to war, Jia Xu reprimanded them for their behaviour and tried to persuade them to avoid conflict. They listened to him.