The guards led Qingxi and the others to the dungeon of the Dali Temple.

The little dumpling immediately spotted a huge iron pillar in the center of the dungeon, with several iron chains connected to it.

Meanwhile, the bloodthirsty demon child was chained to an iron pillar.

In the adjacent cell, several people who had been bitten by the bloodthirsty demon child were imprisoned.

Their skin was deathly pale, and their hands and feet were bound with thick hemp ropes. To prevent them from biting anyone else, something was stuffed into each of their mouths, preventing them from spitting it out. They could only whimper with red eyes, their eyes filled with a thirst for blood.

The little dumpling immediately shut its mouth, afraid that it would become like that.

Zhen Shaoqing was talking to a few people when he saw Xiao Tuanzi and the others, and quickly went over to them.

Chao Qingxi and Xiao Tuanzi each bowed.

Zhen Shaoqing looked at the little dumpling with some concern: "How is the little dumpling now?"

When Zhen Shaoqing saw that her mouth was covered, he thought she had also fallen ill like the others, but then he saw that the little girl's eyes were normal, without any bloodshot or crazy look.

“We already know about this biting disease, but Little Dumpling hasn’t shown any symptoms yet. We came to you to ask if there’s any way to cure it,” Qingxi quickly told Zhen Shaoqing.

Zhen Shaoqing was somewhat surprised and hurriedly asked, "Has the little dumpling not fallen ill yet?"

"No!" Qingxi and Mu Jinnian answered firmly together.

The little dumpling nodded obediently and said to Zhen Shaoqing, "Uncle Zhen, I don't want to bite anyone right now."

Zhen Shaoqing stroked his beard as he pondered, "That's really strange!"

"Why do you say that?" Mu Jinnian asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhen Shaoqing explained, "We didn't know this disease was contagious before, so we didn't take many precautions. When this bloodthirsty demon child was brought to the Dali Temple, he bit several doctors and officials who treated him. As a result, these people developed the same symptoms as the bloodthirsty demon child an hour after being bitten, and went berserk and tried to bite people."

"Fortunately, the Dali Temple still had guards, and we tied these people up, which prevented the situation from worsening."

"As for Zhuang Yueyue, as far as I know, she started to show symptoms about three hours after being bitten."

"Therefore, we speculate that the time from being bitten to developing symptoms may be earlier for adults than for children."

"It's been about ten hours since the little dumpling was bitten. She and Zhuang Yueyue are the same age, so why hasn't she shown any symptoms yet?"

After Zhen Shaoqing finished speaking, Qingxi and her son Mu Jinnian fell silent.

"Perhaps everyone's constitution is different?" Qingxi hesitated, but she didn't have the mind to dwell on this issue now. She asked Zhen Shaoqing:

"Have you found a cure for this illness? Can you cure Little Dumpling?"

Zhen Shaoqing sighed and pointed to the people he had just been talking to, saying, "These are renowned doctors from the capital and imperial physicians sent by the Emperor. They are working together to study this disease, but there are no results yet."

Seeing Zhen Shaoqing's uneasy expression, Qingxi guessed that their progress was not going well.

Su Momo, who had been quietly listening to them talk, suddenly widened her eyes and rushed to Qingxi, saying:

"Auntie, are you saying that Little Dumpling was also bitten by this monster? And also contracted that strange disease?"

Wang Yong, who was next to Su Momo, was terrified. He looked at the little dumpling with fear and backed away, trembling.

Su Momo grabbed Qingxi anxiously and said, "Auntie, you should tie up and lock Xiaotuanzi up quickly! How can you leave her outside like this? What if she bites someone again!"

"Shut up!" Qingxi snapped, shaking off her hand. "I brought you here, not so you could lock up my daughter!"

Su Momo stomped her foot angrily and shouted, "Auntie, I'm only saying this for our own good! You can't just ignore her just because she's your daughter!"

Su Momo's words attracted the attention of those around her. The doctors and imperial physicians who were studying the prescriptions all looked up at them, and the guards in the dungeon also looked over. Everyone looked terrified.

"This child, was he bitten too? Did he get a disease?" a doctor asked in a trembling voice.

"Then we should lock her up quickly and separate her from others, otherwise if she bites someone, the disease will spread again!" another imperial physician said in a panic.

Others also began to shout sporadically:

Lock him up!

Lock him up!

The little dumpling hugged Mu Jinnian's neck in fear and huddled in his arms.

Mu Jinnian hugged the little girl tightly and gently patted her back to comfort her: "Don't be afraid! Your brother is here!"

Qingxi and Mu Jinnian watched the crowd warily.

Zhen Shaoqing immediately stood up and angrily shouted at the crowd, "This is the little princess personally appointed by the Emperor! Who dares to be disrespectful!"

He then added, "Everyone can rest assured, the little princess is perfectly normal and shows no signs of illness!"

After hearing Zhen Shaoqing's words, everyone finally quieted down.

Su Momo rushed to Zhen Shaoqing: "Who knows if she might suddenly have a relapse! Uncle Zhen, as the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, you have to ensure the stability of the Dali Temple! You have to ensure the stability of the people of the capital!"

Su Momo's words stirred up the previously quiet crowd once again.