Hu Lili hid behind a tree, her nails digging deep into her palms.  

Watching Su Tang surrounded by a group of women, laughing and chatting as they exchanged fabric and food, the jealousy and hatred in her eyes threatened to overflow.  

She would never let Su Tang off easy. Lu Xiao was hers, and she had to drive Su Tang away!  

Suddenly, her gaze fell on a bamboo tray drying medicinal herbs not far away, and a vicious smile curled at the corners of her lips.  

Late at night, the moonlight was as clear as water.  

Hu Lili climbed over the wall and sneaked into Su Tang’s backyard. By the light of the moon, she found the piles of drying mint and mugwort.  

“Hmph, let’s see how proud you are now!”  

She pulled out a bottle of kerosene from her pocket and poured it over the herbs without hesitation, then struck a match and lit it.  

The flames roared to life, instantly devouring the herbs, the firelight illuminating her twisted face.  

The fire spread rapidly, the crackling sounds startling Aunt Wang next door.  

“Fire! Help! Put out the fire!”  

Aunt Wang’s shouts pierced the night sky.  

Lu Xiao and Su Tang rushed out of the house, their hearts sinking as they saw the flames in the backyard.  

Lu Xiao grabbed a bucket and ran toward the fire, while Su Tang shouted for the neighbors to help.  

With everyone working together, the fire was finally extinguished.  

But the herbs had already turned to ashes.  

Su Tang crouched on the ground, staring at the charred bamboo tray and the wreckage strewn across the ground, her eyes red.  

These herbs were the result of her trekking through several mountains. Every single plant had been gathered with painstaking effort.  

The Northwest was nothing like Shanghai—these things were already hard to come by.  

Lu Xiao’s face was dark, his eyes scanning the surroundings like a hawk’s.  

He noticed a kerosene bottle lying near the base of the wall. Picking it up and sniffing it, his expression grew even grimmer.  

“This was arson.”  

His voice was icy, carrying a murderous intent that sent chills down the spine.  

The next morning, the entire family compound had heard about the burning of Su Tang’s herbs.  

Sister Li said angrily, “This is just too wicked. Who could have done such a thing?”  

Aunt Wang glanced thoughtfully at Hu Lili’s house but said nothing.  

Hu Lili, however, pretended to know nothing and even came over to offer fake sympathy: “Su Tang, don’t be too upset. Maybe it was just some mischievous child…”  

What she had burned wasn’t just the herbs—it was also the last of Su Tang’s wild ginseng.  

Without it, the medicinal packets would lose much of their potency.  

“Hu Lili, stop pretending!”  

Zhang Cui spat at her: “Crocodile tears! This is no small matter. If the culprit is caught, they’ll be sent to jail!”  

Hearing this, Hu Lili snorted coldly and turned to leave.  

But Lu Xiao arrived with two men in tow.  

“Lu Xiao, we received a report that someone here intentionally destroyed public and private property, causing severe consequences.”  

The leader of the two surveyed the scene and spoke.  

He was an inspector. With a case of malicious arson in the family compound, how could he not come to investigate?  

Hu Lili’s face paled, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes.  

But she quickly forced herself to appear calm and tried to slip away.  

Lu Xiao, however, moved faster, blocking her path.  

Seeing this, Hu Lili frowned: “Lu Xiao, what do you think you’re doing?”  

Lu Xiao stepped closer to her, his eyes as cold as a frozen pond: “Hu Lili, drop the act. You’re the one who started the fire!”  

Hu Lili’s body trembled slightly as she retorted, “Don’t you dare slander me! How could I possibly do such a thing?”  

“Whether you did or not, you’ll cooperate with the investigation. Hu Lili, if this fire hadn’t burned the herbs, it would have burned Su Tang.”  

“This is attempted murder. Do you understand?”