Thinking about the Emperor's intentions behind this move, Zhang Ying, based on his years of experience, guessed Kangxi's thoughts pretty well. Then the carriage arrived at Wangyue Tower.

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhang Ying has arrived."

Kangxi thought to himself, "That old fox really came fast."

"Let him in!"

"yes."

"This servant greets Your Majesty."

"Alright, get up, Liang Jiugong, take a seat."

Zhang Ying stood up: "This servant thanks Your Majesty."

He then sat down.

Kangxi said, "You've come at the right time. Around 3:45 PM, go out and show yourself. As for whether to take on disciples or who to take on, that's up to you."

Zhang Ying: "This servant obeys."

Time flew by. After rounds of selection outside Wangyue Tower, only about fifty people, including Tong Xuewen, Wang Linyu, and Xu Chengzhi, were able to enter the tower to participate in the competition.

Fifty people is not a small number.

It was three-quarters past noon when the time came, and the manager came out to take charge of the overall situation.

Xu Chengzhi had sobered up for a while. After waking up and learning what had happened, he was told that there was a competition later that he had to participate in, as it was required by a noble person. He was very scared.

"Brother Wang, what do you suggest? I've just sobered up. Also, who is this person who challenged me to this contest? Can't I just not participate?"

Wang Linyu said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid that won't work. I heard that if you can stand out in this competition, you will have the opportunity to become Lord Zhang Ying's disciple."

Xu Chengzhi: "Do you think that distinguished person might be Lord Zhang Ying?"

Wang Linyu shook his head: "I'm not quite sure about that, but the esteemed person said that this is your first competition with Tong Xuewen."

Xu Chengzhi lamented, "I must quit drinking from now on. Drinking leads to trouble!"

Xu Chengzhi wasn't truly stupid to have made it to the end; he understood perfectly well that the important person who spoke must have seen his drunken behavior. If he could actually beat Tong Xuewen, that would be fine, but his exam score was below 50th place. Compared to the top scorer, what was the point of him even competing?

Wang Linyu sighed and said, "There's no point in saying more, Chengzhi. Just do your best and apologize after the competition."

Xu Chengzhi said dejectedly, "That's all we can do." Losing face is better than losing substance. His family is a minor prominent family in Jiangnan, but it can never compare to the noble families in the capital with titles.

He must have been drunk out of his mind to say such incoherent things!

Why couldn't he have kept it to himself? Why did he blurt it out without thinking? He regrets it so much that he wishes he hadn't come out today.