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Those who had sent gifts to the Wang Manor in previous years were mostly military personnel. The rest were lower ranked officials and nobles without substantial power.

An Chang Qing studied the list and found a few familiar names.

"Are Zhu An Liang and Shi Le Zheng on friendly terms with Wangye?" An Chang Qing was surprised when he saw these names on the list. In his previous life, he had stayed hidden in the Wang Manor and was not informed about the court situation but based on the fact that these two generals had helped the abolished prince besiege Yejing, they should be considered as enemies.

An Chang Qing was on alert but still decided to probe, "This year, should we send gifts to these two Great Generals?"

"No need."

Xiao Zhige took over the list, drew two big crosses over their names and explained to him patiently, "Our country has six Great Generals. Zhao Xin Chung presides over Qizhou and Suizhou. He's the Empress Dowager's brother but he's now too old to go to battle. Xue Qi presides over Yuzhou and Yongzhou. He is secretly being supported by the Shu family and therefore, sides with Shu guifei. Shen Tu Bei presides over Suzhou and Chenzhou. On the surface, he seems to be neutral but is actually under the Emperor's command. Zhu An Liang and Shi Le Zheng are like the grass on a wall1. They're incapable in warfare but skillful in judging the wind's direction to sail with it."

"The two did not want to offend anyone so they sent out gifts to the Wang manor every year. You can ignore them."

An Chang Qing noticed the disdain in his words for these two generals and knew they were not close. He was relieved but decided that he should still warn Xiao Zhige in the future.

After taking in what Xiao Zhige had said, An Chang Qing asked, "There's one more."

Xiao Zhige smiled, "There's also the Great General Xia, Xia Hou Shang. He is my mentor. The first battalion I joined was under his command."

When Xiao Zhige wanted to join the army, Emperor An Qing was furious. He dictated that he could not enlist as a prince and if he died on the battlefield, his corpse would be left there to rot. Xiao Zhige had agreed with the only request that he be allowed to join General Xia's army.

As General Xia was known for being unbiased and upright, Emperor An Qing agreed on the spot. But who knew that this was the chance Xiao Zhige had been planning for. Since then, he was like a water dragon that entered the sea, soaring to the sky with a leap.

"Then should I prepare additional gifts for General Xia?" An Chang Qing asked.

"There's no need," Xiao Zhige shook his head, "Mentor has always been upright, he neither sends gifts nor accepts them. And on the surface, he doesn't have a good relationship with me. You only have to know this, there's no need to do anything else."

An Chang Qing nodded, then pointed to the rest of the list, "What should we do with the rest?"

Xiao Zhige gave the list a quick sweep and circled out several names, "Pay no heed to these people. As for the rest, if they continue to send gifts this year, we can do the same."

.....

An Chang Qing drew up a new recipients list according to Xiao Zhige's instructions and passed it to Steward Wang. Xiao Zhige had no other close relatives to visit in person which saved them the trouble.

When Steward Wang was about to leave, An Chang Qing stopped him and said, "Prepare another portion of gifts and greetings under my name to be sent to the Grand Princess's Manor."

The Grand Princess's words had more or less touched his heart. Even until his death, he had never heard of the Princess doing any harm to Xiao Zhige. Since that's the case, even if they can't be close, he should still maintain a good relationship.

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