Chapter 878: The Young Empress (15)

After thinking it over countless times, Tang Nuoyue came to a conclusion.

All those complicated schemes and conspiracies were unnecessary.

The simplest method was often the best.

It might appear full of flaws, but precisely because of that, it would arouse the least suspicion.

So she carefully chose a suitable opportunity and hired someone to secretly hit her on the head.

When she woke up...

She would suddenly become intelligent.

As absurd as it sounded, this method was surprisingly believable.

Besides, she had seen similar cases recorded in unofficial histories and various books.

On the appointed day, she disguised herself in ordinary clothing and brought several attendants with her into the city.

While passing through a narrow alleyway, a flowerpot suddenly fell from above and struck her.

She collapsed immediately.

Of course, she had prepared for this beforehand.

That day, she deliberately wore a thicker hairstyle.

At the very moment the flowerpot fell, she subtly shifted her position to reduce the impact.

Even so, the blow still left stars dancing before her eyes.

Fortunately, because of her preparations, she wasn't seriously injured.

The attendants by her side panicked.

They quickly carried Tang Nuoyue into a nearby inn.

The Moon Prince's Residence was simply too far away.

Not long afterward, Tang Nuoyue woke up.

And became intelligent.

The people around her were astonished.

More than anything, however, they were delighted.

Afterward, the group secretly returned to the residence.

What they didn't know was that the entire scene had already been witnessed by Nanyun Chuan, Su Qing, and several others.

“The fool has recovered?”

Nanyun Chuan narrowed his eyes.

“I was still wondering how we should proceed with our plans.”

His gaze swept across the others present.

“What do you all think?”

Everyone in attendance was intelligent.

Aside from Nanyun Chuan and Su Qing, Xiao Jin was also there.

At this point, Shan Ge and Yin Qiu had not yet joined forces with them.

“The matter of the fool suddenly becoming intelligent must be investigated thoroughly.”

Xiao Jin was the most calculating among them.

“We need to determine whether she only recently recovered or if she's been pretending all along.”

His expression turned serious.

“We must proceed cautiously.”

“You two will be returning to the palace soon, so investigating personally will be inconvenient.”

“I'll handle it.”

He smiled faintly.

“My status as a hostage prince means I have no obvious ties to anyone. Appearing around her won't attract suspicion.”

“Better yet, if I can gain entry into the Moon Prince's Residence, we can observe her from close range.”

“If she's truly fine now and genuinely recovered because of that flowerpot incident...”

His smile became cold and sinister.

“Then she'll be much easier to use.”

The other two considered his reasoning and nodded in agreement.

After that day, Xiao Jin employed a few methods to deliberately become acquainted with Tang Nuoyue.

The timing was almost identical to what had happened in the original timeline.

Only Tang Nuoyue knew how hard she had struggled not to kill him on sight.

She knew exactly how dangerous Xiao Jin was.

A man like him required constant caution.

Yet Tang Nuoyue had already died once.

In her previous life, she had successfully deceived him countless times with various excuses and performances.

As a result, Xiao Jin failed to notice anything suspicious.

She behaved almost exactly as she had in her former life.

She never tried to appear especially intelligent.

Because she understood one thing very clearly:

If she acted too carefully and never revealed a single flaw, Xiao Jin would become suspicious immediately.

So she deliberately exposed weaknesses.

She behaved almost identically to her former self.

Although Xiao Jin still harbored many doubts, there was one conclusion he felt certain about.

This woman may have become normal...

But she definitely wasn't clever.

To put it bluntly, she was stupid.

The sort of person who was very easy to manipulate.

After reaching that conclusion, Xiao Jin decided to use Tang Nuoyue as a pawn.

Little did he know...

That was exactly what Tang Nuoyue wanted.

He had already fallen into her trap.

The relationship between the two progressed rapidly.

News of Tang Nuoyue's recovery spread throughout the entire imperial capital after she awakened.

Naturally, Tang Guo had to demonstrate concern for her elder sister.

Summoning her into the palace was only to be expected.

And that...

Was precisely the day Tang Nuoyue had been waiting for.