Qiqi shook her head.
Hong Beimo said, "There are things Quan Dean could not know. How did you learn them? You had never seen a portrait of your mother before, so why were you able to recognize her as your mother at first glance?"
"You really do overthink things," Qiqi said coldly. "Thank you for going to all the trouble of making up this pack of lies to deceive me."
"I have no need to deceive you," Hong Beimo said. "Ling Jiazi's constitution was different from that of ordinary people. You should understand the inheritance I mentioned. As you grow older, many secrets will come to you in dreams. Haven't you often followed the guidance in your dreams, only to find that it actually came true?"
Qiqi's heart tightened. She had never told anyone this secret. How could Hong Beimo know?
"Memories can be passed down!" Hong Beimo's eyes were filled with hope.
"Since you know so many secrets," Qiqi said, "why don't you tell His Majesty about them?"
"He thinks of nothing but living forever and would never spare a thought for anyone else's feelings," Hong Beimo said. "All these years, I have not been loyal to him. We have always merely used each other."
Qiqi fixed her clear, beautiful eyes on Hong Beimo. "What secret are you hiding in the Imperial Mausoleum?" Her intuition told her that this matter must be connected to the mausoleum.
Hong Beimo smiled. "Your Highness is indeed exceptionally perceptive. His Majesty wants an elixir of immortality. That is what I have been working on for him all these years."
"Does an elixir of immortality really exist in this world?"
Hong Beimo smiled and shook his head.
Qiqi looked at him in bewilderment. "Since you know it doesn't exist, why deceive him? Aren't you