15 A hint of green within the white— the green of a deceitful beauty.

After hearing Cang Qian’s account, Che Baiyuan was already unsettled. Now, upon hearing Sang Yingying accuse Cang Qian of slander, Che Baiyuan angrily scolded, "Sang Yingying, how dare you bring a dagger into our Che family and try to kill my cubs!"

"They were only two days old! How could you be so heartless? Calling Xiao Qian a vicious female—I think you are the most poisonous and wicked one here!"

At Che Baiyuan’s words, Sang Yingying burst into tears, her eyes brimming with sorrow. "Sister Baiyuan, you can’t just believe my cousin’s one-sided words!"

"I already said, it was my cousin who lied and slandered me! That dagger was hers. She wanted to kill your cubs. I only wanted to check on the newborns."

"But as soon as I entered, I saw my cousin wielding the dagger, ready to strike. I rushed over to stop her, and during the struggle, she scratched herself with the dagger, but I was stabbed by her."

Her sobbing voice trailed off.

At this moment, Yu Ge, the strongest of the beastmen present, chimed in, "I believe what Yingying said. Clearly, it was that wicked female trying to kill the cubs. Yingying just happened to witness it."

"She risked her own safety to stop Cang Qian from harming the cubs. Sister Baiyuan, don’t let yesterday’s rescue blind you to the truth!"

Cang Qian, who had been silent, glanced at the speaking beastman. She recalled that at the coming-of-age ceremony, after Sang Yingying spoke ill of her several times, this male beastman led others in agreement.

Che Baiyuan stepped behind Cang Qian and whispered, "Those are the ringleaders I told you about."

"The one who just spoke is their eldest brother, Chen Yu."

Cang Qian nodded slightly.

She stepped forward, her gaze sharp as she looked at Yu Ge. "Since you all know I saved Sister Baiyuan and the cubs yesterday, then why would I want to harm them today?"

"If I truly wanted to kill those two cubs today, I shouldn’t have saved them yesterday. Why would I save and then kill them? That would be pointless!"

Yu Ge stammered, "You saved the cubs yesterday to change the clan’s poor opinion of you, and today you kill them to… to…"

Cang Qian laughed. "Can’t come up with a reason, huh? Indeed, just rescued yesterday, and killing them today is hard to explain!"

"Don’t say you can’t think of one—I myself can’t imagine why I’d kill them after saving them just yesterday."

She then turned to Sang Yingying and asked, "My delicate cousin, why don’t you tell me the motive for why I supposedly want to kill Sister Baiyuan’s two cubs?"

Sang Yingying was stunned. Her original plan had been to kill Che Baiyuan’s two cubs and frame Cang Qian for it.

Cang Qian’s belongings were still in the clan leader’s house. Last night, Sang Yingying had sneaked into Cang Qian’s room and taken a bracelet she often wore.

Her plan was to kill the cubs today, then place Cang Qian’s bracelet on their bed to make it appear as if Cang Qian accidentally left it behind while killing them, thus framing her.

But what Sang Yingying hadn’t expected was that Cang Qian caught her in the act!

Since only Cang Qian was present, Sang Yingying quickly stabbed herself with the dagger to turn the blame.

Even if Cang Qian later told the truth, Sang Yingying could counter-accuse her.

Yu Ge and the others were already backing Sang Yingying to solidify the accusation against Cang Qian, so they would support whatever she said.

Sang Yingying had only thought of this quick-witted trick, never about inventing a motive.

Now, when asked, she could not come up with one.

"I… I… don’t know what motive you have to kill the cubs!" Sang Yingying said with a wronged look, "You acted alone—you know your own reasons!"

Cang Qian chuckled. "Fine, we’ll put the motive aside for now."

"You said just now the dagger was mine, that I held it and tried to kill the cubs. So the dagger was in my hand the entire time, right?"

Without hesitation, Sang Yingying said, "Yes! Because it was in your hand, I was stabbed by you!"

Cang Qian smiled and asked, "If it was in my hand the whole time, why was my hand the one injured, and yours unharmed?"

She raised her left hand wrapped in cloth and then unwrapped it, revealing a deep, long wound across her palm.

Though the bleeding had stopped, the fresh injury still looked fierce and raw.

Sang Yingying was dumbfounded again. She had never considered this logical inconsistency.

Unable to answer, she weakly leaned against the chest of the high priest sitting beside her.

She coquettishly said, "High Priest, my cousin tried to kill the cubs and injured me. Now she not only slanders me but also questions me. You have to stand up for me!"

Dian Na immediately comforted her, gently patting her back. "I understand. I will definitely stand up for you."

Seeing Sang Yingying’s act, Cang Qian couldn’t help but roll her eyes. This white lotus was tinged with green—a green tea bitch in disguise!

Cang Qian decided it wasn’t worth her time to deal with Sang Yingying’s sly tricks.

She walked to the wooden table, picked up the dagger, and held it in the air, aligning the blade’s edge with the position of her hand injury.

"Everyone, look."

After comparing, she continued, "The blade of the dagger perfectly matches the wound on my palm. This means I was holding the blade edge at that moment."

"If what Sang Yingying said were true, that I held the dagger the entire time, then I would have been holding the handle, not the blade. If I held the handle, then why is my hand injured?"

Upon hearing Cang Qian’s words, the clan members began whispering among themselves.

"Right! If Cang Qian was holding the handle, how could her hand be injured?"

"Maybe during the struggle, her hand holding the handle accidentally touched the blade?"

"Even if she touched the blade, it would only scratch her a little. How could it make such a deep, long wound?"

"To have such a deep, long cut, the entire blade edge must have been gripped tightly in the hand."

"Yeah, I agree!"

…

Che Baiyuan, overhearing the whispers and recalling Cang Qian’s account, suddenly felt her eyes grow moist.

She knew how painful it must have been for Cang Qian to grasp the dagger barehanded to protect her cubs.

If they had been her own cubs, Che Baiyuan could understand the fierce motherly love.

But they were not her cubs—Cang Qian’s willingness to go so far showed her true kindness, not pretense.

Meanwhile, Sang Yingying, in her attempt to frame Cang Qian, had tried to kill newborn cubs and even stabbed herself to slander her. This female was both cruel and vicious.

Che Baiyuan stepped forward, holding Cang Qian’s left hand, gently stroking the edges of the wound with concern.

Cang Qian looked at her and smiled, shaking her head. "Sister, it’s okay now. It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Che Baiyuan nodded, her eyes still moist. "If it hurts, tell me."

Cang Qian smiled and nodded.

Sang Yingying, hearing the clan’s words, dug her nails deeply into her palm in frustration.

…