Chapter 41: Deceiving Others is Like Deceiving Heaven, Do Not Deceive Yourself
After listening to Liu Jin’s explanation, Ye Ning had a basic understanding of the Supervision Institute.
Instinctively, he sensed that this position had a lot of potential for manipulation.
However, others didn’t share his view, such as Ji Mingyue.
After the morning court session, the Emperor didn’t rest but returned to the Imperial Study.
“Minister Liu, what do you think of my decision to appoint Ye Ning to the Supervision Institute?” Ji Mingyue asked.
Liu Shen was present. As usual, it was just the two of them discussing matters.
This scene was so common that the civil and military officials of Great Zhou had long been accustomed to it. The treacherous minister Liu Shen enjoyed an absurd amount of imperial favor, granting him such privileges.
“Isn’t that a waste of his talent?” Liu Shen hesitated slightly before asking.
In the past, joining the Supervision Institute was akin to soaring to great heights. At that time, the Institute was a top-tier power center, wielding judicial, penal, and supervisory powers, enjoying unmatched prestige.
But times had changed.
Now, the Supervision Institute had fallen into such disrepair that it was almost forgotten.
It had been a thousand years since it lost its status, long enough to erode everyone’s will.
Liu Shen wasn’t truly a treacherous minister.
Although he seemed irresponsible, he was actually well-versed in the workings of all the departments in the court, except for the Supervision Institute. It was simply no longer relevant, a dilapidated place no one cared about.
Was it appropriate to send Ye Ning to such a forgotten place?
“It is indeed a waste of talent,” Ji Mingyue sighed. “The Supervision Institute has long been a mere shadow of its former self. If not for the ancestral mandate forbidding its abolition, it would have been dissolved centuries ago.”
She didn’t dwell on these power dynamics, but rather focused on her reasoning, “I sent Ye Ning there to temper his character.”
Liu Shen contemplated this.
“Do you think Ye Ning would cause trouble in other departments?” Ji Mingyue smiled wryly.
“It’s not just that he might cause trouble. He definitely will!” she said. “Ye Ning is fiercely just, intolerant of any wrongdoing. The court is rife with corruption and disorder. Can he endure it? He would undoubtedly stir up a commotion, so the Supervision Institute seemed the best place for him.”
Liu Shen sighed. “These are truly chaotic times when villains thrive, and no place for righteous men.”
He no longer opposed the decision. Ji Mingyue’s reasoning was sound.
Ye Ning, with his uncompromising nature, would easily become a target elsewhere. As members of the treacherous faction and the foolish Emperor, they couldn’t openly support him. He would have to struggle alone.
Could he really outmaneuver the seasoned officials? Clearly not.
Ye Ning was already conspicuous enough, with many resenting him and wishing him ill.
Placing him in the spotlight would be heartless. Hence, the Supervision Institute was the only option.
It would force him into quietude, reducing his influence—a form of protection.
Additionally, the Institute, though fallen, still held a certain prestige within the officialdom. Ye Ning serving as a Censor was not demeaning.
“We’ll just have to wait until the storm passes and find a way to use him again,” Ji Mingyue said, her heart heavy.
It was painful for a ruler to have a capable minister they couldn’t employ, instead having to send him into obscurity. But sometimes, temporary retreat was necessary.
Ji Mingyue and Liu Shen agreed on this.
They believed Ye Ning would quiet down in the Supervision Institute. After all, it had been in decline for so long. How much trouble could come from such a broken place? Impossible.
—
“The Supervision Institute may be in ruins, but I’ll definitely stir things up!” Ye Ning, just out of the palace, had different thoughts.
He had to create trouble. Without it, how could he court death?
Without courting death, how could he become the Heavenly Emperor?
Giving up was not his style.
After some inquiries, he found out where the Supervision Institute was and headed there.
Located in the northern part of the city, it was far from the bustling areas and other government offices, and not near the residences of high officials.
It seemed to occupy its own isolated space.
From afar, Ye Ning saw that the Institute covered a vast area, comparable to a prince’s mansion.
This hinted at its former glory. But now, it was desolate.
The main gate was closed, leaves piled up, uncleaned for ages.
The plaque with “Supervision Institute,” written by the Great Emperor, was covered in dust, dull and lifeless. One of the stone lions at the gate had even lost its head, left unrepaired.
“This is the Supervision Institute?” Ye Ning was stunned.
Liu Jin had said it was in decline, but seeing it in person, he realized Liu Jin had been too kind.
Could anyone really work here?
His lips twitched as he wiped the gate with his sleeve, revealing an ancient couplet:
Deceiving others is like deceiving heaven. Do not deceive yourself.
Failing the nation is failing the people. How could one bear to fail them?
This too was penned by the Great Emperor. Once a source of pride for the Institute’s members, now it seemed a mockery.
“Don’t bother looking, there’s no one inside today,” an elderly passerby said, seeing Ye Ning lingering.
“Where are they?”
The old man sneered. “Where else? The brothels? The taverns? They’re not doing their jobs. If you want to see them, you need luck. Who knows when someone will actually be there?”