Chapter 191
Chapter 191
The children beside Jiang Li looked at one another, terror appearing on all their faces at once.
At the Queen’s signal, the castle maids came down the stairs and began checking everyone in the hall one by one.
The dozen or so guests all rose to their feet, tense and uneasy.
The five-year-old Little Boy at the very front said, “It wasn’t me. Just now… I was picking at my fingers.”
The little sister beside him also looked carefully at the maid and waved her hands in fear. “N-no, it wasn’t me… Just now… I was watching Brother pick at his fingers.”
The third child, a round little Fatty with snow-white skin, timidly lifted his eyelids and glanced at the maid, terrified of being misunderstood. “I didn’t take the necklace. If I’m lying, I’m a puppy.”
The maid questioned them one by one.
Every player followed the rules. No one lied.
There were even children who held up three fingers, wanting to swear a terrible oath in front of the maid to prove their innocence.
Liang Chen watched the maid getting closer and closer to her, so anxious she was about to lose her mind.
Liang Chen tugged at Jiang Li’s sleeve. “What do we do, sis? I’m dead for sure. If I’d known the Old Witch was that evil, I would’ve stayed far away from her…”
Originally, Liang Chen had thought she could make up a story, say she had picked up the necklace, and maybe even take credit for it.
But the first rule of the Fairy Tale World Survival Rules was:
[Children are innocent. All children who enter the fairy tale world are absolutely forbidden from lying.]
If Liang Chen said outright that the Witch had done it, the logic was far too flimsy.
After all, the Witch had already run away. She had not been at the scene of the theft at all.
In the end, Liang Chen would probably still be branded with the crime of “theft.”
“Sis, they’re not going to drag me out and chop off my head, are they? Why don’t you put it in your Space?” Liang Chen looked to Jiang Li for help.
Using the Space to take away the necklace would merely change the situation from “Liang Chen took the necklace” to “Jiang Li took the necklace.”
At its core, nothing would have changed.
Jiang Li glanced at Liang Chen. Before the maid came over, she quietly removed the necklace from Liang Chen’s neck.
Then, with a casual flick, she tossed it under the table beside them and nudged it toward the corner with her foot.
Jiang Li comforted Liang Chen, “Don’t be scared. Nothing will happen.”
Soon, the maid walked over to Liang Chen.
“Did you steal the Queen’s Jade Necklace?” The maid glared at Liang Chen with a fierce expression.
Liang Chen immediately denied it. “I didn’t steal it.”
The haughty maid stared at Liang Chen and said coldly, “Then tell me. Have you seen the Jade Necklace? Have you touched it?”
Liang Chen could not lie, so she could only lower her head and force herself to answer. “I… I have seen it. I touched it.”
“Did you wear it?” the maid pressed.
“I did…” Liang Chen’s voice was as thin as a thread.
“But,” Liang Chen immediately raised her head to defend herself, “but I wasn’t the one who took the necklace! The Witch forced it on me!”
“The Witch?” The Queen followed the maid over from behind.
The Queen lifted her chin high and gave the maid a meaningful look, signaling for her to pick up the necklace from under the table.
Then she turned her head and looked down at Liang Chen arrogantly, letting out a sarcastic sneer. “Ha. And where is this Witch you speak of? Is she in the castle? Point her out for me.”
Liang Chen said quietly, “The Witch ran away.”
The Queen looked down at Liang Chen and burst out laughing.
“The necklace in the castle was stolen by the Witch, but the Witch isn’t in the castle? Next time you make up nonsense, remember to come up with a better excuse!”
The maid added fuel to the fire from behind. “Queen, I think she was the one who stole the necklace! Sticky fingers. By law, she should be hanged.”
The maid’s words were exactly what the Queen wanted to hear.
The Queen immediately turned and ordered the soldiers, pointing right at Liang Chen’s nose. “Seize this thief! Hang her!”
The soldiers stepped forward and restrained Liang Chen.
Given the current situation, the truth Liang Chen had told sounded like a lie.
Because the Witch in that truth was not at the scene at all.
On the contrary, if she had made up a lie-claiming she had found the necklace herself, or inventing some other seemingly reasonable excuse-it would have been much easier for people to believe, and it would have fit the logic of the situation far better.
The truth sounded false, and a lie would have sounded true.
To escape this predicament, Liang Chen had to lie!
However, the rules stated explicitly that Liang Chen, a player participating in the game as a “child,” was absolutely forbidden from lying.
If she did not lie, the Queen would order her hanged.
If she did lie, she would die for violating the rules.
No matter what Liang Chen did, it would be difficult for her to get out of this alive.
The purpose of this fairy-tale world game was to kill every last player.
Liang Chen was dragged away by several tall soldiers. She turned to look at Jiang Li, hoping Jiang Li could give her an idea.
Jiang Li shook her head lightly at Liang Chen, mouthing for her not to worry.
In Liang Chen’s future, there had been a scene after the banquet ended where Liang Chen died a gruesome death in the ballroom.
Since the Crystal Ball’s rule was true-“once the future has been measured, it cannot be changed”-
then that was enough to prove Liang Chen would not truly be hanged by the Queen during this crisis.
There was still room for a turnabout.
This crisis could develop in many directions.
Whether Jiang Li helped her or not, Liang Chen would not be killed.
Jiang Li also wanted to see what kind of twist the situation would take.
Sure enough, before the soldiers escorting Liang Chen could leave the hall, footsteps sounded from the entrance.
It was Zhang Jiang.
Zhang Jiang was playing the role of the King.
In his hand, he held the King’s Scepter, which possessed the ability to make others obey him unconditionally.
Zhang Jiang walked into the hall, glanced at the Queen, then stared at Liang Chen, who had been seized by the soldiers. Two words left his mouth: “Exempt her.”
The soldiers obeyed the King’s order and released Liang Chen on the spot.
Liang Chen hurriedly ran back to her original spot, returning to Jiang Li’s side.
When the Queen saw this, she was instantly consumed by rage. She kicked up a fuss in the hall and threw a furious tantrum at Zhang Jiang.
Zhang Jiang refused to say a single word. His mouth stayed tightly shut.
The Queen stamped her feet in anger. In the end, she lifted the hem of her dress, went up the stairs, and returned to her room on the Third Floor.
A maid handed the Jade Necklace to the Queen.
But the Queen angrily threw the Jade Necklace onto the stairs as well, smashing it to pieces.
The Jade Necklace had never mattered at all. It was nothing more than a pretext for harming people.
After Zhang Jiang watched the Queen, played by an Aberration in this fairy-tale world, leave, he walked straight toward Jiang Li and Liang Chen.
He pulled over a chair beside Liang Chen and sat next to the two of them.
“Thank you, Zhang Jiang,” Liang Chen said gratefully.
Zhang Jiang nodded and remained silent.
“Zhang Jiang, did things go smoothly on your end? Has the future in the prophecy played out yet?” Jiang Li asked him.
Zhang Jiang glanced at Jiang Li, then silently shook his head.
Liang Chen and Jiang Li tried saying a few more things to Zhang Jiang.
But Zhang Jiang remained cold and aloof the entire time, looking as if he would die before speaking.
Liang Chen was utterly baffled.
Although Zhang Jiang was a companion, Liang Chen truly was not very familiar with him.
She felt that Zhang Jiang was acting a little strangely. He did not seem easy to get along with.
Just as Liang Chen was feeling frustrated, Zhang Jiang silently handed her a Note.
The Note was placed in front of Liang Chen. Written on it were Zhang Jiang’s rules.