I, the one in the heavens, am here to protect my bottom line in all realms.

Chapter 356 Perfecting the Process
The emperor led Zhang Chengyuan into the house. The flickering candlelight in the house cast their shadows on the wall.

The emperor smiled and looked at Zhang Chengyuan and said, "At the banquet today, I saw you sitting quietly, not vying for attention like other concubines, which really impressed me."

Zhang Chengyuan bowed slightly and said softly, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I know that I am not very talented and knowledgeable, and I dare not show off in front of everyone. I only hope to listen to your Majesty and the talented scholars and beauties' conversation quietly, so that I can be influenced by them and become more elegant."

The emperor smiled and nodded, his eyes full of admiration: "Your temperament is rare, not arrogant or impatient, gentle and pleasant."

As he spoke, he gently stroked Zhang Chengyuan's hand, feeling the delicate touch.

Zhang Chengyuan tried to ignore the urge to pull her hand away, and distracted herself by thinking that her non-competitive personality had worked, but her face remained shy: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. It is my blessing to be favored by Your Majesty."

Jiang Siyou, who was outside the door, listened to the conversation between the two people in the room, and felt a pang of bitterness in his heart, but he knew that Yuanbao was just acting to complete the task, so he could only endure it silently, clenched his fists tightly, and tried to keep himself calm.

The emperor chatted with Zhang Chengyuan for a few more words, then suddenly wrinkled his nose and asked, "Is there a special fragrance in this room? I seem to have smelled it somewhere before."

Zhang Chengyuan sniffed around with a puzzled look on her face, and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, I don't know what kind of fragrance you are talking about. I don't have any incense here. If you want it, I will ask someone to prepare it. But I only have ordinary incense here. I hope Your Majesty will not dislike it."

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to recall. After a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Oh, right, when I was with you that day, I also smelled this fragrance. It intoxicated me, as if I were in a fairyland."

Zhang Chengyuan pretended to be surprised and said, "Ah, so I have a smell!"

As he said this, he quickly raised his hand to smell his arm, as if trying to smell the scent he was talking about.

The emperor laughed and embraced Zhang Chengyuan, skipping the incident. He would send someone to investigate later: "I have heard that if one can smell the unique fragrance of the other person, it means that the two are made for each other. In this case, my beloved concubine is the one destined for me."

Zhang Chengyuan seemed to be frightened. She broke free from his embrace and knelt down in panic: "Your Majesty, I dare not use any tricks. You and the Queen are a match made in heaven. I am of humble origin, how dare I be compared with the Queen."

The emperor stared at her and said nothing for a long time.

Suddenly he burst into laughter again, pulled Zhang Chengyuan up, and let him fall into his arms.

Then he scratched her nose and said, "I am very happy, but I have been busy with court affairs recently and have not been able to visit you again."

The issue was temporarily over. Zhang Chengyuan snuggled into the emperor's arms and said softly, "Your Majesty is very busy. I am very satisfied that you can take time out to visit me."

When Jiang Siyou, who was outside the door, heard this, he felt a pang of pain in his heart again, but he restrained himself from showing it at all so as not to affect Zhang Chengyuan.

The emperor in the room looked into Zhang Chengyuan's eyes and said affectionately: "My beauty, I am particularly happy to meet you again today. How about..."

Zhang Chengyuan understood the emperor's intention, but she lowered her head in a shy manner: "Your Majesty, I..."

The emperor interrupted her with a smile: "Don't be shy, my beauty. I will stay with you tonight."

Zhang Chengyuan showed a delighted look on his face and said shyly, "Everything is up to your majesty."

The emperor let go of her and stood up, saying, "I'm going to take a bath."

Zhang Chengyuan bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, I am waiting for you."

After the emperor left, Jiang Siyou came in and bowed respectfully: "My lady, do you have any instructions?"

"Go prepare some food and wine."

Jiang Siyouying should leave and prepare.

Zhang Chengyuan sat down and waited, preparing the things he would need later. Soon, Jiang Siyou came back with wine and food, set them up, and then left.

The emperor came in right behind him, and Zhang Chengyuan greeted him with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty."

The emperor saw the wine and food she had prepared at a glance, and asked in an interested tone: "My beauty, do you want to drink and have fun with me?"

"I hope Your Majesty will show me the favor."

The emperor was in a good mood: "Since the beauty has invited me, I must honor her."

Having said that, the eunuch still tried all the dishes before the emperor started eating.

The two of them ate a few bites casually, then started drinking and talking. The emperor asked the servants to leave, and wanted to do something naughty, but Zhang Chengyuan naturally would not let him touch her, so she avoided him calmly and threw herself into his arms, allowing the volatile medicinal fragrance to take effect quickly.

The emperor could not hold on for more than two seconds and fell into a dream. Before he fell, he was caught by Zhang Chengyuan. She stripped him of his clothes and put him on the bed. She took out a small jade bottle and put it under his nose for him to smell. Then the emperor fell into a dream.

Not long after, the person began to have erotic dreams.

Zhang Chengyuan had his back to the bed, eating his meal calmly.

The erotic dream ended and Zhang Chengyuan came to his side. Her voice sounded dreamy and unreal, but as she finished speaking, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes, but his eyes were empty and dull.

Zhang Chengyuan stepped back and sat at the table, watching him simply tidy himself up, then lie down and close his eyes, and start snoring the next second.

Zhang Chengyuan took off his coat, knelt on the footstool in his bellyband, and called the emperor softly: "Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"

The emperor frowned slightly, then opened his eyes three seconds later and looked at the person who called him with sleepy eyes: "What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, you are so sticky, why don't you take a bath, or you will hurt your body if you stay like this all night."

The emperor recalled the hard work just now and was indeed sweating. He felt a little sticky and uncomfortable. "My beloved concubine is really thoughtful."

Zhang Chengyuan blushed slightly with shyness. She helped the emperor sit up and changed his clothes.

The emperor went to wash up, Jiang Siyou came in to change the bedding, and Zhang Chengyuan also pretended to take a bath.

After returning, all his tiredness was gone, and the emperor, in a good mood, hugged Zhang Chengyuan and slept with his clothes on.

When she woke up the next day, she left feeling relaxed. Eunuch Cui delivered the reward after attending court, but did not mention the position again. This had been speculated before and it would not be that easy, so she was not surprised.

Having tasted success twice, the emperor naturally became suspicious. The secret guards conducted rounds of investigations, and the imperial physicians checked his body every day. Only when there was no problem did he feel relieved.

From then on, he would come to Zhang Chengyuan's place to rest and relax on the last day of every month. The next month, he would feel mentally and physically relaxed, and his mood would be good as well. Government affairs would not bother him so much anymore.

This is a later story, let’s not talk about it for now. After the emperor left, Jiang Siyou was a little depressed.

Zhang Chengyuan called him into the inner room and teased him, "Why are you jealous already?"

Jiang Siyou looked at her aggrievedly: "Well, I feel bad."

Zhang Chengyuan hugged him, kissed him again, and comforted him, "Be good, don't be jealous, I don't like him, I only like you, I just made him have a wet dream last night, I didn't let him get close to me."