The reason for the uproar was that the backgrounds of the four excluded study companions were not simple, and the people left behind were also quite subtle.
Back then, when the study companions for the Crown Prince were chosen, the aristocratic families occupied three of the eight spots. Two were the grandsons of highly-ranked generals, and one was the eldest grandson of Junior Tutor Fang Zhiyuan. As for the remaining two, one was Rong Xuan's youngest son and the other was the youngest son of the new Minister of Revenue, Song Yan. Song Yan came from a poor family and was especially good at algebra. Previously, he had been doing odd jobs in the Ministry of Revenue. After Qi Xiuyuan transferred Zhang Cheng to the Ministry of Works, he promoted him. As such, it could be said that Song Yan had achieved success overnight.
