Ren Jidian requested to meet with the Emperor once a servant brought them breakfast. He made an excuse that he had something important to report about the Empress' condition.
The Emperor had easily agreed, as always.
Ren Jidian walked over to the steps as always, and passed by some Yin servants. He waved at them, and they suddenly..... giggled.
Was there something wrong with his face? A stray rice grain sticking to his hair?
"Doesn't Scholar Ren somehow look even more attractive today? But not how Yins looks attractive....."
"His eyes looked so captivating, I suddenly forgot how to breathe."
"I-I... Don't understand.... Am I turning abnormal!!??? A Yin could not make you feel that way, right!?"
Ren Jidian blinked, but kept walking. After all, it was not the reaction of other Yins that mattered to him now.
It's the reaction of the Yangs.
When he stepped forward, everyone turned to the door. All the officials were Yangs and Zhongs after all.
And they really all looked like they were hit by strong surge of sweet scent. They were mostly married and permanently bonded however, so the effect was not as strong as it should have been.
But Emperor Zau immediately rose from his throne, eyes going bloodshot and twitching.
This smell... It was like his Yi-Yi's but also different. His Yi-Yi's smell was fresh and sweet, just like peach blossoms dotted with the morning dew.
This scent was much more like the smell of deadly nightshade. It was strong, and more of invading the nose rather than tempting you.
It was actually a little pungent and repulsive, but it draws them in at the same time.
Only Song Xiu was seemingly calm from the smell, just scratching his nose once in a while as if he was having an allergic reaction.
"Why have you come here during your cycle?" The Emperor said, steeling himself and gripping the arm of his throne.
"Well, I have not noticed my cycle even now until you said so, Your Majesty." Ren Jidian lied. "I do not feel any different. I can actually function perfectly."
Ren Jidian spoke in a plain and normal tone, but to Emperor Zau, it sounded seductive and tantalizing.
All the other Yangs in the room, and even the Zhongs can feel it too. If this boy stayed here any longer, he'd be in great danger.
Ren Jidian can very much notice the internal struggle in Emperor Zau's eyes. He was disgusted, and the moment he made a look of disgust, it seemed that the surge went stronger and the Emperor clutched his chest.
Song Xiu went over to his side, wearing a fake worried expression.
"Are you alright, Ah-Ting? What's come over you, you usually were not affected by any of the Yin servants here when they are having their cycle... "
"Don't tell me you have forgotten about your commitment to Wei Wangyi?"
"I am not..." He gritted his teeth. "I am only loyal to Wangyi....."
He was sweating and his breathing was haggard, and he could only grip himself in order to not move closer and pounce over Ren Jidian.
Ren Jidian was unfazed, as he knew that even if the Emperor attacks him, this would only give a chance and an opening for Song Xiu to kill him. He gave the advisor a look, and he knew he understood.
Both of them were prepared for whatever happens next. They waited patiently for the confused Emperor.
Emperor Zau made a barely audible whisper, his lips flapping but voice very quiet.
But Ren Jidian can still hear it. It seemed to be a prayer or a mantra.
"Yan Tianshi, give me strength... Watch over me with your omniscient eyes.... Help me reject what I must not be tempted with..."
Yan Tianshi was an Alpha goddess. The Goddess of Serenity and Celibacy.
She was often prayed to in order for Alphas to be able to reject their strong desires during their ruts, or at the presence of an Omega in heat. She had been celibate her whole life, and denied all worldly matters.
Many Alpha monks pray to her, and give people water that came from the eyes of her statues, so that she may always watch over them and help them face 'temptations'.
Ren Jidian scoffed. Another god that was created due to a biological aspect of the world, and their only purpose was that too.
But he supposed that shows that Alphas were not predatory by nature, and some of them actually tried their best to reject their feral instincts.
However, the Emperor's prayers to Yan Tianshi must not have worked, as his eyes darkened and his body moved on his own---
And he pinned Ren Jidian to the floor!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please let the poor boy go! He's not your wife!" The other officials begged, trying to push him away.
But he would not budge, his jaws fully tensed. He was gritting his teeth so it was bared like an animal's, and there was a growl at the back of his throat
With him being so close, Ren Jidian could now smell his pheromones. It was different from how an Omega's pheromones smelled like flowers.
It was more of a metallic, ammonic type. Like chemicals, gas..... all that putrid yet still intoxicating odor.
He was only disgusted by it. It makes him want to puke.
The Emperor's face went closer and closer and Ren Jidian turned his head to the side, but this only caused him to expose his neck.
Emperor Zau aimed to bite it, when---
"That's enough, Ah-Ting."
Someone raised his chin up using the tip of a blade.
Song Xiu kneeled down, no longer wearing a fake jolly expression. He looked completely flat and cold, his eyes lazy and droopy.
He squished the Emperor's face with his large fingers!
"This is not you. You are not a mindless beast. You have control over yourself, and your body. You must simply regain it."
Emperor Zau creased his eyebrow at this, his face so crunched up that it almost seemed like....
Like he was going to cry.
"Help..... Me..... Uncle Song.... Help me resist....."
His voice was deep, but it was strained and hoarse, so he sounded a little pitiful.
Song Xiu grinned, but his eyes were still cold as he did.
He flipped his sword and used the hilt to hit the Emperor in the head!
"You!!!!! You struck the Emperor!!!!" The old balding officials shouted.
"You heard him, lao yeyes." Song Xiu called them 'old grandpas' with no sense of respect whatsoever. "He wanted my help, and I helped him."
He pushed the unconscious emperor away from Ren Jidian, and offered a hand to help him up.
Ren Jidian did not take it and just stood up, and left the throne room without a word.
He chuckled bitterly, and went to pick up the sleeping Emperor.
He faced everyone first before leaving too with Ah-Ting in tow:
"No one speaks of this matter, do you all understand? Keep all your mouths shut about that Yin's extraordinary scent, or the emperor's reaction to it. Or else.... Well...."
He did not have to elaborate. It was clear to everyone, and they gained a newfound respect for how he dealt with the situation. It was quick, precise, and clean.
And moreover, they admired him for being able to resist that Yin scholar completely, despite not being bonded to anyone yet.