<div> Chapter 578: Chapter 202 Regrettable_2
 Miao Liangfang glared at him, "What did you say?"
 Cui Min, on the other hand, relaxed.
 He looked at Miao Liangfang, his expression a mix of tears and laughter.
 "I’ve said before, I didn’t want to take the spring exam, didn’t want to join the Medical Officer Institute. I just wanted to live an ordinary, simple life, yet you insisted on dragging me to take the spring exam and enter that damned place."
 "You are a genius, a remarkable genius. You could have easily shown off your talents in front of the Empress Dowager, won the favor of the nobles in the palace. The powerful fear the influence of the Empress Dowager, and though many medical officers in the Medical Officer Institute are dissatisfied with you, you can ignore them; they dare not touch you, but they dare to harm me."
 "Over those years, I’ve blocked countless overt and covert attacks for you, if it wasn’t for me, you would have been destroyed by people long ago!"
 Cui Min looked at him with scorn, "Miao Liangfang, you’re too arrogant. In fact, you know nothing. People like us, commoners who enter the Medical Officer Institute, without any backing and only relying on medical skill, are just targets for others to shoot at."
 "You were bullied?" Miao Liangfang was taken aback, "Why didn’t you tell me?"
 "What’s the use of telling you? You’ve become the Vice Director, your heart set on caring for the millions, how could you have the inclination to pay attention to others. I was just your foil, there to emphasize how extraordinary your talent as a commoner is, how remarkable!"
 Miao Liangfang said angrily, "How could you think like that?"
 <div style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center">
 <div>
 
 </div>
 </div> "Why wouldn’t I think like that? If you had even a bit of regard for me, you wouldn’t have recommended someone else for the post of Vice Director!"
 With these words, a sudden silence fell over the prison.
 Miao Liangfang looked at him, "How do you know..."
 "Of course I know."
 Cui Min sneered, "Consort Yan herself told me."
 The torches hung on the prison walls flickered dimly, cold without a trace of warmth, shaking in Cui Min’s eyes, causing them pain.
 At that time, Consort Yan had just entered the palace. The concubines were engaged in open and secret struggles, and Miao Liangfang, as the prestigious Vice Director of his time, naturally became a target for Consort Yan’s allure.
 The young, upright Vice Director righteously refused Consort Yan’s solicitation, so she took her anger out on Miao Liangfang’s good friend, Cui Min.
 He, too, was a commoner with no backing, and his closeness to Miao Liangfang was seen as a crime. Consort Yan found a pretext to blackmail him and threatened to throw him into jail.
 Cui Min knelt and begged for mercy.
 "Actually, why be so loyally devoted to Miao Liangfang?"
 The high-born lady idly let her maids dye her nails with henna as she flung a letter onto his face. "He’s about to become an Envoy, yet he didn’t even wish to recommend you once for the position of Vice Director."
 "You regard him as a friend, yet he looks down on you. Isn’t that pathetic?"
 He trembled as he reached out to take the letter.
 Inside was a recommendation for the position of Vice Director of the Medical Officer Institute.
 He knew that Miao Liangfang was about to be promoted to Envoy and had sincerely congratulated him, secretly hoping that with the vacancy of Vice Director, their friendship might secure the position for him.
 However, the harsh truth was that the letter of recommendation named several other medical officers with influential backgrounds; his name was not among them.
 His friend had betrayed him.
 The prison was quiet, and Miao Liangfang looked at him, "I didn’t recommend you because the position of Vice Director depends on the results of the Official Examiner’s assessment, and your results weren’t up to standards..."
 "So?" Cui Min interrupted him, "What are you trying to say? That my medical skills are mediocre, not comparable to a genius like you. After joining the Medical Officer Institute, I couldn’t come up with new prescriptions like you, win the Empress Dowager’s favor, or achieve notable results in the Official Examiner’s assessment, so under your ’fair’ administration, I couldn’t even make it onto the roster of recommendations."
 <div style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center">
 <div></div>
 </div> "Since I’m so incapable and mediocre, why did you let me enter the Medical Officer Institute? Giving people hope only to tell them they aren’t worthy, Miao Liangfang, don’t you think that is too hypocritical!"
 In the empty dungeon, the hoarse voice echoed strangely off the walls.
 Cui Min laughed sarcastically.
 Who doesn’t want to climb higher, to become superior to others? How many geniuses can there be in the world? He had also studied the Official Examiner’s medical texts day after day, but in the end, he was just inferior—unable to compare with those Imperial Medical Officers who had trained at the Imperial Medical Bureau since they were young.
 The book says: "Ignorance and mediocrity can be overcome and should not be accepted; those who do not limit their ignorance and mediocrity, yet tirelessly study, are truly self-reliant."
 It’s all fake, all of it.
 Diligent study cannot make up for stupidity. It’s impossible for a mediocre person to attain high positions through their own efforts alone.
 "So, you framed me for this?"
 Cui Min laughed bitterly.
 "Miao Liangfang, you could have helped me, just one more step, and I could have had a better life, but you didn’t."</div>
 

<div style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:0px;text-align:center">
 <div>
 
 </div>
</div>

Chapter 578 - 202 Regrettable_2

Chapter 578: Chapter 202 Regrettable_2 Miao Liangfang glared at him, "What did you say?" Cui Min, on the other hand, relaxed. He looked at Miao Liangfang, his expression a mix of tears and laughter. "I’ve said before, I didn’t want to take the spring exam, didn’t want to join the Medical Officer Institute. I just wanted to live an ordinary, simple life, yet you insisted on dragging me to take the spring exam and enter that damned place." "You are a genius, a remarkable genius. You could have...

Smiling Under Lanterns

Chapter 578 - 202 Regrettable_2

Smiling Under Lanterns - Chapter 578 - 202 Regrettable_2