Rebirth and Reversal of Fortune

Chapter 384 Palace Intrigue, Test of Trust

However, they were inevitably drawn into the complex power struggles within the palace. Various factions vied openly and covertly for power and profit, making every step Su Jinxiu and Xiao Ling fraught with peril.

As the investigation deepens, Su Jinxiu and Xiao Ling find themselves at the center of a palace intrigue. They initially thought they could uncover the truth in secret, but little did they know they had become pawns in the power struggle between various factions.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Marquis's rivals slandered Xiao Ling to the Emperor, falsely accusing him of secretly entering the palace with ulterior motives.

"Your Majesty, Xiao Ling has trespassed into the palace without permission, and must have ulterior motives."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation.

"I want to see what Xiao Ling's true purpose is."

Su Jinxiu and Xiao Ling have to deal with the Emperor's investigation on one hand, and guard against the secret plots of other forces on the other.

At a palace banquet, Su Jinxiu was deliberately seated next to the rival of a favored concubine, which aroused the other party's dissatisfaction.

"You ungrateful wretch, how dare you sit next to me? Are you trying to oppose me?"

Su Jinxiu hurriedly got up to apologize, but was still met with difficulties.

When Xiao Ling was handling affairs in the palace, he was repeatedly tripped up by other officials, making his work extremely difficult.

"This is deliberately making things difficult for me, trying to make me give up."

Meanwhile, various forces have offered attractive conditions in an attempt to win them over.

"As long as you stand on my side, you will enjoy endless wealth and glory."

But Su Jinxiu and Xiao Ling knew that once they chose the wrong side, they would be doomed.

They tread carefully in this complex struggle, maneuvering cautiously among all parties.

On one occasion, Su Jinxiu overheard two concubines plotting against her and learned that they were planning to frame her.

"This time, we must ensure she never has a chance to recover."

Su Jinxiu quickly informed Xiao Ling about the matter, and the two discussed countermeasures.

Xiao Ling decided to take the risk and seek help from an old eunuch who was quite prestigious in the palace.

"Father-in-law, please save us."

After weighing the pros and cons, the old eunuch decided to secretly help.

With the help of the old eunuch, Su Jinxiu and Xiao Ling escaped danger time and time again.

But their situation remained extremely dangerous, and the palace intrigue intensified.

Just then, news of Su Jinxiu's pregnancy somehow got out.

"What should we do? Will the child be in danger?"

The various factions reacted differently to the news; some wanted to use the opportunity to curry favor with them, while others wanted to take the chance to eliminate this potential future threat.

In the treacherous court, rumors and provocations test their trust and lead to misunderstandings between them.

The palace intrigues, like an invisible net, tightly ensnared Su Jinxiu and Xiao Ling. Various malicious rumors began to circulate within the palace, directly targeting the relationship between the couple.

"I heard that Xiao Ling entered the palace to curry favor with the powerful and doesn't care about Su Jinxiu's life or death at all."

"Su Jinxiu had an affair with another man in the palace, and Xiao Ling was kept in the dark."

These baseless rumors shot at them like poisoned arrows, and their once unwavering trust began to crack.

One day, Su Jinxiu overheard the palace maids gossiping, saying that Xiao Ling was getting close to the daughter of a powerful nobleman, and that they seemed to be having some kind of secret.

"How could this be? Has he really changed?" Su Jinxiu wondered to herself.

Xiao Ling also heard rumors about Su Jinxiu, saying that she was planning to defect to the opposing forces in order to protect herself.

"How could Jinxiu do such a thing?" Xiao Ling was full of doubts.

Gradually, when the two met, their eyes held a hint of suspicion and hesitation.

"Is there something you're hiding from me?" Su Jinxiu couldn't help but ask.

Xiao Ling frowned, her tone somewhat stiff: "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

During an important operation, Xiao Ling was supposed to meet up with Su Jinxiu as planned, but was delayed due to an unexpected event.

Su Jinxiu waited anxiously for a long time, and the unease in her heart gradually turned into anger.

"Was he deliberately not coming? Could those rumors be true?"

When Xiao Ling finally arrived, Su Jinxiu couldn't help but scold him.

Why did you only come now? Don't you care about me at all?

Xiao Ling also felt wronged, feeling that Su Jinxiu did not understand her difficulties.

"I had an accident, how could you think of me like that?"

The two had a big argument and parted on bad terms.

Just as their relationship was strained, their enemies in the palace took the opportunity to intensify their attacks.

Someone deliberately told Su Jinxiu that they saw Xiao Ling being intimate with another woman.

"I saw it with my own eyes, there's no way I'm wrong."

Some people whispered in Xiao Ling's ear that Su Jinxiu had betrayed their relationship.

"She had already made a deal with someone else; you were just kept in the dark."

These provocations deepened their misunderstandings, pushing their trust to the brink of collapse.

"Could our past relationship have been so fragile?" Su Jinxiu secretly shed tears.

Xiao Ling was also caught in a painful struggle: "Did I really trust her wrongly?"

Just then, a massive conspiracy against them was about to unfold.

"This time, we must bring them down completely."