Cultivating Immortality Begins with Selling Oneself

Chapter 252 Quarrel
"Could it be that Shen Mengning is feeling guilty and afraid of failing the test, so she simply decided not to take it?"

"I heard that Shen Mengning hasn't been to the academy for a long time and has been studying on her own in the mansion."

"Tsk tsk tsk, Qingfeng Academy defended Shen Mengning so much, but what happened? Shen Mengning is a hopeless case, with no sense of collective honor. Just wait, Qingfeng Academy is doomed to admit defeat. Our Chengfeng Academy is very good overall, and it's still unknown which academy will produce the top scholar."

Qi Changchun's tone was full of undisguised sarcasm. Jiang Qingfeng clenched his fists. He wanted to refute, but he didn't know where to start. Shen Mengning had indeed not appeared for a long time, and a rumor had been spreading in the city recently.

Shen Mengning was afraid of failing the exam and didn't dare to face failure, so she kept it to herself and didn't dare to take the exam.

"What are you talking about? Shen Mengning is not that kind of person. Wait, Shen Mengning will be here soon."

"You're jealous. You used to have the best grades in the two academies, always ranking first. But after Shen Mengning showed up, you were squeezed out, so you're bullying Shen Mengning like this."

Meng Yuan stood in front of Jiang Qingfeng, with her hands on her hips, and refuted Qi Changchun bluntly.

Every word and sentence was defending Shen Mengning.

Qi Changchun sneered, his eyes scornful, "Am I afraid of Shen Mengning? I just won by luck."

"Shen Mengning just got lucky. It's still unclear who will win this time! No matter how much Qingfeng Academy defends Shen Mengning, it's useless. Shen Mengning is just a coward. The so-called genius girl is just being hyped up."

"A true genius must have the courage to face failure. Someone like Shen Mengning, who only avoids problems when they arise, is destined to achieve nothing. Whether the strategy that His Majesty praised so highly was actually written by Shen Mengning remains an open question!"

For half a month, Shen Mengning had been hiding in the mansion and had never shown up.

If not a coward, what is?
Qi Changchun originally regarded Shen Mengning as a competitor, but now it seems that Shen Mengning is not qualified at all.

Losing is losing, winning is winning.

It's just a matter of losing some face, there's nothing I can't afford to gamble with.

"Bah! Don't talk nonsense." Cheng Ziqi stood beside Meng Yuan and said angrily, "There are only two hours left before the exam. Are you a fortune teller or some kind of immortal? What makes you so sure that Shen Mengning won't take the imperial examination?"

"You're still saying that the strategy wasn't written by Shen Mengning. Could it be that you wrote it? If you have a good idea, why didn't you report it earlier? Maybe you'll be the one to be commended by His Majesty."

"Some people are only good at talking." Cheng Ziqi opened his folding fan and looked Qi Changchun up and down, saying with disdain, "Where were you when they were distributing porridge to the people? Why didn't you stand up and criticize Shen Mengning back then? Now you're blaming her, Qi Changchun, don't you think you're being a bit of an afterthought?"

Qi Changchun's chest was heaving violently, and it was obvious that he was very angry with Cheng Ziqi.

He also wanted to give out porridge and do something for the people.

Unfortunately, Qi Changchun's biological mother had passed away, and he had no power at home, so he couldn't come up with any money at all.

"Don't mess around."

Qi Changchun pointed at Cheng Ziqi with trembling fingers, and he really felt that Cheng Ziqi was very unreasonable.

Meng Yuan immediately responded, "Hey, Master Qi, you're the only one allowed to act recklessly, but you're not allowed to use some sense?"

The two of them sang in unison, Qi Changchun couldn't say a word, and Jiang Qingfeng stood by and made a move from time to time.

Qi Changchun got nothing but anger, and in the end he could only throw out a few words dryly.

"Then let's wait and see whether Shen Mengning will come to take the exam."

Shang Qingyan watched a good show and then stood up in a pretentious manner.

"Brother Changchun, Chengfeng Academy has always been famous for its stability. We don't need to rush. Time will naturally bring the answer."

In addition to Qi Changchun, the other famous person in Chengfeng Academy is Shang Qingyan.

Meng Yuan couldn't help but roll her eyes, feeling very displeased with Shang Qingyan. Thinking back to the flower viewing banquet held some time ago, Li Xinrong was disgraced because of his affair with a servant, but Shang Qingyan was able to get away with it perfectly and create a victim's identity, which was enough to show that Shang Qingyan was a very scheming person.

Just now Qi Changchun was arguing with them, and Shang Qingyan was standing by and watching the show. Now she stood out in a hypocritical manner, and her words were full of provocation.

Gee tut.

It's really scheming.

Meng Yuan made no secret of his dislike for Shang Qingyan.

Shang Qingyan clenched her fists and silently swore in her heart that if she had the chance in the future, she would make Meng Yuan kneel down and apologize!
The onlookers couldn't help but get agitated and started whispering to the people around them.

"I heard that the eldest daughter of the Shen family was afraid of losing the competition, so she didn't dare to take the exam, fearing that the current emperor's expectations of her would be disappointed. I originally thought the rumor was false. With only an hour left before the imperial examination, the eldest daughter of the Shen family has not yet appeared. Could it be true?"

"Could it be that Miss Shen's dementia has relapsed and she has forgotten all her knowledge and is choosing to escape?"

"That makes sense! The eldest daughter of the Shen family has always been dull, so it makes sense that her old illness would flare up."

Mrs. Shen sat in the restaurant, listening to the people whispering, and became more and more anxious. There was still an hour left before the imperial examination, and still no news. She didn't know whether Shen Fuyu and the Shen sisters were dead or alive.

Mrs. Shen felt a little regretful. She shouldn't have let Shen Fuyu and Shen Mengwu take the risk. Now three people were killed at once.

"Madam, there is still no news about Shen Mengning?"

Master Shangguan had a heavy expression on his face, thinking of how His Majesty had specifically instructed the invigilator two days ago to submit Shen Mengning's paper as soon as possible.

You should know that holding the academy examination in advance is a special favor from His Majesty.

Not for anything else, I just hope that Shen Mengning will be removed from the court as soon as possible.

now……

Mrs. Shen smiled bitterly, and the dark circles under her eyes became darker. Mrs. Shen had been suffering from insomnia during this period. Whenever she closed her eyes, she would think of Shen Fuyu and the Shen sisters.

"Master, I sent many people to look for him, but there is no news at all."

"Some of the missing girls have returned home. I sent people to inquire about them, but unfortunately, the girls who returned home were mentally unstable and could not provide any correct clues at all."

These girls, who were not yet of marriageable age, were experiencing this kind of thing for the first time, so they were inevitably frightened and needed to rest for a long time before they could recover to normal.

"Master, I am also very anxious."

"When the time comes and His Majesty blames me, I will personally confess my crime to His Majesty."

Mrs. Shen rubbed her eyebrows, looking tired.

Master Shangguan swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. As a mother, Mrs. Shen was more anxious than him.

"Ugh!"

"At this point, we can only leave it to fate."

Master Shangguan left disappointed.

Mrs. Shen closed her eyes, tears rolling down her haggard cheeks, and she felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife.

Why does her An Ning have such a miserable life?
"It's the eldest lady of the Shen family!"