Chapter Summaries

Jiang Sinian drunkenly revealed his resentment toward Wen Jingyan, whom he accused of marrying him for money despite admitting that she had excelled in school and at work. Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan learned that Jiang Sinian’s family had arranged the marriage because they considered Wen Jingyan capable of compensating for his shortcomings, and Jiang Muyan secretly recorded his confession.

• Jiang Sinian told his assistant that Wen Jingyan had brought her troubles on herself and insisted she was a gold digger who never loved him.
• Jiang Sinian recalled how Wen Jingyan helped him in college and admitted he had mistaken her paid errands for affection before accusing her of pursuing his wealth.
• Jiang Sinian complained that Wen Jingyan would not obey him by staying home or caring for Yaya, while his assistant defended her sincerity and criticized his expectations.
• Song Yutang noticed Jiang Muyan recording Jiang Sinian’s drunken remarks in the restroom so they could preserve his confession.
• Jiang Sinian revealed that his family had accepted his marriage to Wen Jingyan because they believed her abilities would keep him from wasting the family fortune.
• Jiang Sinian raged that Wen Jingyan had succeeded in business and earned more praise than him, claiming she was trying to prove she was better than he was.

Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan realized Jiang Sinian used Jiang Shiya to psychologically torment Wen Jingyan, then beat him up in the restaurant restroom. After dinner, Song Yutang agreed to let Jiang Muyan pursue her, and she asked him for a copy of his recording, which he guessed was for Wen Jingyan.

• Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan discussed how Jiang Sinian used Jiang Shiya to belittle and control Wen Jingyan, and condemned his behavior.
• Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan entered the restroom, knocked out Jiang Sinian's assistant, and beat Jiang Sinian before returning to their seats.
• Jiang Muyan texted Zhao Chuan to delete the restaurant's surveillance footage, then asked Song Yutang if she was happy after the beating.
• Jiang Muyan formally asked to keep pursuing Song Yutang, and she agreed to give him a chance and go on more dates.
• After dinner, Song Yutang asked Jiang Muyan for a copy of his video, and he asked whether she wanted it for Wen Jingyan.

Song Yutang agreed to help Wen Jingyan, reassured by Jiang Muyan’s support, and shared a passionate kiss with him after their date. Back home, Li Xiulan brought her food and recognized the expensive pink diamond necklace, then guessed Song Yutang had been on a date with Little Gu after noticing her swollen lips.

• Song Yutang explained that she wanted to help Wen Jingyan because she was being treated unfairly, and Jiang Muyan told her he would support her.
• Jiang Muyan kissed Song Yutang outside the elevator and wished her good night.
• Jiang Muyan began sending Song Yutang the video, then pretended to be in a vegetative state when Li Xiulan came to the door.
• Li Xiulan brought Song Yutang sweet fermented rice balls and fussed over her after learning she had drunk a little wine.
• Li Xiulan recognized Song Yutang’s pink diamond necklace and mistakenly concluded that Little Gu had given it to her.
• Li Xiulan pointed out that Song Yutang’s lips were swollen, prompting her to question whether Song Yutang had gone to dinner with Little Gu.

Song Yutang’s in-laws encouraged her to pursue another man, unaware that she had kissed Jiang Muyan, who was pretending to be unconscious. After showing Wen Jingyan a video of Jiang Sinian’s jealousy and manipulation, Song Yutang learned that Wen Jingyan had already begun to recognize his behavior.

• Li Xiulan mistook Song Yutang’s swollen lips for evidence of a date with Little Gu and urged her to find happiness, even offering to help her divorce Jiang Muyan.
• Jiang Muyan stopped pretending to be unconscious and began working to gather evidence against the second branch before Song Yutang could be married off.
• Song Yutang showed Wen Jingyan a recording of Jiang Sinian’s drunken remarks and admitted that she had ordered the bodyguards to beat him.
• Wen Jingyan thanked Song Yutang and revealed that she had gradually realized Jiang Sinian was using Jiang Shiya and her emotional distress to manipulate her.

Song Yutang listened as Wen Jingyan explained why she stayed in her unhappy marriage and continued enjoying the Jiang Family’s wealth. Wen Jingyan warned her to beware of Jiang Sichen, and Song Yutang offered her a belated birthday cake.

• Wen Jingyan told Song Yutang that her youthful love for Jiang Sinian had been worn away by years of manipulation and humiliation.
• Wen Jingyan admitted she stayed because she wanted wealth and status, and Song Yutang accepted that she had made her own choice.
• Wen Jingyan said she felt guilty about benefiting from resources that should have belonged to Song Yutang’s family, but Song Yutang told her not to blame herself.
• Wen Jingyan warned Song Yutang that Jiang Sichen was a cunning threat who might retaliate after the Jiang Family’s recent losses.
• Song Yutang thanked Wen Jingyan for the warning and gave her a cake to make up for her missed birthday celebration.

Song Yutang celebrated Wen Jingyan’s birthday and helped her open up about their friendship, then prepared the name and opening of Jiang Guoqiang’s private dining restaurant. The restaurant’s ribbon-cutting was interrupted when Gourmet Association elder He arrived to challenge Jiang Guoqiang to demonstrate his cooking.

• Song Yutang gave Wen Jingyan a strawberry cake and a diamond brooch for her birthday, and Wen promised to remain her friend even if their families fell out.
• Dong Ying told Song Yutang that the restaurant staff and opening plans were ready, so Song wrote the name “Food Without Worry” in Empress Dowager Duanyi’s authentic hand.
• A week later, Jiang Guoqiang and Li Xiulan joined their family at the restaurant’s ribbon-cutting, while Zhao Cuifeng and others booked tables to support the opening.
• Butler Wang arranged the firecrackers, and Jiang Boyan lit the fuse as the restaurant officially opened.
• Gourmet Association elder He arrived with several members and asked Jiang Guoqiang to cook dishes so he could seek his guidance.

He Bingzheng brought a group of culinary judges to challenge Jiang Guoqiang at Food Without Worry, but Jiang insisted that customers—not professional judges—should decide whether the food was good. Song Yutang backed him, and He Bingzheng ended by accusing them of being afraid to accept his challenge.

• Song Yutang recognized He Bingzheng as the head of the He family and the rival who had competed with her for the cookbook.
• Jiang Guoqiang stepped forward to meet He Bingzheng, then refused to let the invited culinary judges alone decide the outcome.
• Jiang explained that Food Without Worry served everyone equally and proposed that the restaurant's guests and staff vote on the dishes.
• He Bingzheng argued that professionals should judge the food, but Jiang stood by his customers and said their satisfaction was what mattered.
• Song Yutang supported Jiang and told He Bingzheng to take his proposed competition elsewhere if he could not accept the public's judgment.
• He Bingzheng accused Jiang of being afraid to accept the challenge because he had bought the cookbook and called himself the God of Cooking's successor.

Jiang Guoqiang agreed to let the opening banquet guests judge a cooking match after He Bingzheng challenged his claim to He Imperial Cuisine. The chapter left the two men preparing to compete over eight dishes, with He Bingzheng staking his pride on the outcome.

• Jiang Guoqiang refused to let gourmets alone judge the match, and He Bingzheng reluctantly agreed to let everyone present vote.
• Dong Ying revealed that He Bingzheng had brought no ingredients or cookware, while Jiang Boyan and Xiao Tuantuan mocked him for expecting to use the restaurant's supplies.
• He Bingzheng agreed to pay to use the restaurant's ingredients and cookware after Jiang Guoqiang warned that the match could not delay the customers' meal.
• The group agreed that Jiang Guoqiang and He Bingzheng would each cook the same eight He Imperial Cuisine dishes for an anonymous vote.
• Song Yutang proposed that a win would establish Jiang Guoqiang as an orthodox heir, and He Bingzheng declared he would call him Master if Jiang defeated him.

Song Yutang watched Jiang Guoqiang clash with He Bingzheng at the private kitchen’s opening, then met secretly with Jiang Muyan, who thanked her for helping his parents. Their near-kiss was interrupted when Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan caught them together.

• Jiang Guoqiang needled He Bingzheng as they headed into the kitchen, and Dong Ying explained that He Bingzheng bullied rival chefs and planned to charge He Family Catering ten times the cost of the ingredients.
• Song Yutang praised Dong Ying’s preparations and went to greet the guests, where she found Jiang Muyan disguised in a mask, glasses, and a sun hat.
• Jiang Muyan told Song Yutang he had evidence of his second-branch relatives’ financial crimes and that the investigation into his third uncle’s death was nearly complete.
• Jiang Muyan thanked Song Yutang for opening a private kitchen for his parents, then leaned in and kissed her through his mask.
• Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan appeared at the doorway and caught Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan together.

Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan mistook Jiang Muyan, disguised as Gu, for Song Yutang’s lover and offered to support their relationship. Jiang Boyan grew suspicious when he noticed Gu’s voice and build resembled his brother’s.

• Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan hurriedly shut the door and checked the curtains after catching Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan kissing.
• Li Xiulan recognized Gu from the auction, while Jiang Boyan asked why he had kissed Song Yutang.
• Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan assumed Song Yutang deserved to date again because Jiang Muyan was in a vegetative state, and offered to help her divorce him and meet Gu in secret.
• Jiang Boyan questioned whether Gu genuinely loved Song Yutang, and Jiang Muyan agreed to treat her well.
• Jiang Boyan noticed that Gu’s voice and build resembled Jiang Muyan’s.

Jiang Muyan and Song Yutang struggled to hide his identity from Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan by claiming he had plastic surgery. After Jiang Muyan fled when Jiang Boyan confronted him about kissing Song Yutang, Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan questioned whether he was reliable and suggested Song Yutang date Teacher Zhang instead.

• Jiang Muyan and Song Yutang told Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan that Jiang Muyan had plastic surgery to resemble Jiang Muyan and had been injured in a car accident.
• Li Xiulan expressed hope that Jiang Muyan would wake from his coma and gave Song Yutang permission to date Jiang Muyan if she liked him.
• Song Yutang claimed Jiang Muyan had undergone further surgery to match Jiang Muyan's physique and was suffering from infected sutures.
• Jiang Boyan accused Jiang Muyan of running away after kissing Song Yutang, and Jiang Muyan pretended to have an allergic reaction before escaping.
• Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan warned Song Yutang about dating an unreliable man and proposed that she try dating Teacher Zhang.

Song Yutang’s family misunderstood her relationship with Gu, while Jiang Guoqiang competed against He Bingzheng in an anonymous cooking contest. After He Bingzheng won the second dish, Jiang Guoqiang’s approach to practical, evolving cooking won support as the early results turned against He.

• Li Xiulan and Jiang Boyan advised Song Yutang to leave Gu if he would not take responsibility, and Song Yutang let them keep misunderstanding for now.
• The chefs’ eight dishes were served anonymously, and the diners began voting after tasting them.
• He Bingzheng objected when Jiang Guoqiang received twenty-five votes for the first dish, but diners explained they preferred Jiang Guoqiang’s flavorful, homestyle cooking.
• He Bingzheng won the second dish by fifty votes to eleven, while Jiang Guoqiang calmly said that good food and reasonable prices would bring customers back.
• Jiang Guoqiang won the third dish after adapting a traditional dessert with butter, and Song Yutang and others defended his willingness to improve traditional recipes.

Jiang Guoqiang narrowly defeated He Bingzheng in their cooking contest, and Song Yutang challenged He to honor his promise to kneel and take Jiang as his master. An expert confirmed the inscription at the restaurant entrance was written by Empress Dowager Duanyi, leaving He facing renewed pressure to concede and Song poised to answer questions about her family’s history.

• Jiang Guoqiang won the cooking contest by a narrow margin, and He Bingzheng admitted defeat.
• Song Yutang reminded He Bingzheng that he had promised to kneel and take Jiang Guoqiang as his master, but He’s assistant disputed Jiang’s claim to the God of Cooking’s legacy.
• Song Yutang said the restaurant’s inscription had been written by Empress Dowager Duanyi, and Professor Zeng confirmed it was authentic.
• Professor Zeng recognized Song Yutang as a possible descendant of Empress Dowager Duanyi and asked her about the Song Family’s fate.
• He Bingzheng hesitated to honor his promise, and Zhao Cuifeng urged him to kneel and call Jiang Guoqiang Master.

Song Yutang told Professor Zeng how Princess Danyang and her daughter were betrayed and abused by Song Huaiyuan and his family, and how Song Lian'er took the marriage intended for her. She began explaining how she was brought from the nunnery to become Crown Prince Yang's principal consort.

• Song Yutang explained that Song Huaiyuan married Princess Danyang for her dowry and political influence while secretly keeping his childhood sweetheart and their daughter, Song Lian'er.
• After the Prince of Qi took the throne, Song Huaiyuan and the Countess of Shun'an framed Princess Danyang for adultery and imprisoned her and her daughter in a neglected courtyard.
• Song Yutang recounted how she witnessed her mother's abuse, endured starvation and violations, and was sent to a punishing nunnery after Princess Danyang died from hemorrhaging.
• Song Yutang said Song Lian'er eloped with an enemy hostage prince on the eve of her wedding to Crown Prince Yang, leaving the wedding arrangements in crisis.
• Professor Zeng inferred that Song Yutang was brought out of the nunnery to stand in for Song Lian'er as crown princess, and noted that the Song Family could have made her disappear.

Song Yutang recounted how the future Empress Dowager Duanyi survived abuse in the Eastern Palace, protected Hexiang and her child, and helped Muzong secure the throne. She explained that the crown princess’s lifelong hardship and preparations for the palace coup ultimately wore her down and led to her death.

• Song Yutang explained that the crown princess endured neglect and cruelty from Crown Prince Yang while He Shuangxi helped her obtain food.
• Song Yutang revealed that the crown princess gained Emperor Xiaozong’s favor after discovering his past love for Princess Danyang, drawing Empress Wang’s hatred.
• After Song Lian'er returned to the Eastern Palace, Song Yutang secured protection for Hexiang and helped her carry a child to term, but Song Lian'er claimed the baby as her own.
• Song Yutang said Muzong survived an apparent poisoning as a child and vowed to kill anyone who harmed him and his mother.
• Song Yutang described how the crown princess rallied support for Muzong’s succession and prepared for the palace coup despite her failing health.

Song Yutang recounted Lady Song’s life and defended the legitimacy of Jiang Guoqiang’s culinary inheritance, prompting Professor Zeng to seek her help with historical research. She then brokered a compromise between He Bingzheng and Jiang Guoqiang, and the chapter ended when she spotted a familiar figure outside the restaurant.

• Song Yutang explained that Lady Song had protected Muzong and that their bond was genuine, then told Professor Zeng her account came from oral family history and offered to discuss the Jing Dynasty with him.
• Professor Zeng thanked Song Yutang and added her contact information, while Jiang Boyan challenged He Bingzheng over the legitimacy of the Jiang family’s culinary lineage.
• Song Yutang rebuked He Bingzheng for using the God of Cooking’s name to suppress other chefs and proposed that he and Jiang Guoqiang recognize each other as senior and junior brothers.
• He Bingzheng accepted the compromise, invited Jiang Guoqiang to judge an upcoming cooking competition, and received Jiang’s respectful bow after Song Yutang approved.
• The guests dispersed after the restaurant manager ushered them toward the private rooms, and Song Yutang noticed a familiar figure beneath a tree outside.

Song Yutang leaned on Jiang Muyan as she dealt with painful memories, and he took her to his university to cheer her up with ice cream. After they walked around the campus together, Jiang Muyan took her hand and led her somewhere else.

• Jiang Muyan stayed near Song Yutang because he worried He Bingzheng might cause trouble, and Song Yutang threw herself into his arms to catch her breath.
• Jiang Muyan comforted Song Yutang without pressing her to explain, and she eventually pulled away feeling better.
• Jiang Muyan took Song Yutang away from the banquet and brought her to the university where he had studied.
• Jiang Muyan bought Song Yutang a vanilla ice cream cone and told her about the university legend that it could improve a bad mood.
• Jiang Muyan and Song Yutang walked around the university, and he took her hand to lead her somewhere else.

Jiang Muyan took Song Yutang to an arcade and roadside food stalls to cheer her up, then guessed that her bad mood came from memories of her past. He promised to stay with her without demanding her trust, and Song Yutang asked what he would do if she never trusted him.

• Song Yutang struggled to win a brown bear from a claw machine until she finally caught it herself, then played arcade games with Jiang Muyan.
• Jiang Muyan took Song Yutang to a roadside stall for food, and she said she felt much happier after their outing.
• Jiang Muyan revealed that he had overheard Song Yutang's story and guessed that Song Huaiyuan and Crown Prince Yang had reminded her of Song Jianye.
• Song Yutang recalled betrayals by men from her past and clarified to herself that her bad mood had nothing to do with Song Jianye.
• Jiang Muyan said he would stay with Song Yutang when she was unhappy, even though words could not make her trust him.
• Song Yutang asked Jiang Muyan what he would do if she never trusted him.

Jiang Muyan and Song Yutang shared a playful meal, and Jiang Muyan firmly corrected a couple who mistook them for affair partners. Their affectionate behavior then sparked an argument between the couple, leaving Jiang Muyan and Song Yutang laughing together.

• Jiang Muyan told Song Yutang he would patiently keep trying to win her trust, and the two joked and shared food during dinner.
• A young man at the next table accused Jiang Muyan and Song Yutang of having an affair, so Jiang Muyan explained that they were legally married and that he was her husband.
• Song Yutang recognized the couple from their previous crayfish meal at the Lan Residence, and Jiang Muyan said he wanted to prevent people from thinking he was seducing someone else's wife.
• Song Yutang pointed out to the young man's girlfriend how attentively Jiang Muyan cared for her, prompting the girlfriend to argue with her boyfriend and storm off.
• Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan laughed about the couple's quarrel, and Jiang Muyan admitted that he had not always understood romance.

Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan grew closer as she agreed to try trusting and relying on him, while he investigated the people who had hurt her. After learning Sun Meifang was pregnant and Song Mingzhe was being rejected by a potential match, Song Yutang decided to use Butler Wang’s informants to reveal Sun Meifang’s schemes to him.

• Song Yutang covered Jiang Muyan’s hand and promised to try trusting and relying on him, and he clasped her hand in delight.
• Jiang Muyan asked Zhao Chuan to investigate Song Jianye, Sun Meifang, and Song Mingzhe while Song Yutang slept on the ride home.
• Jiang Muyan showed Song Yutang evidence of Sun Meifang’s affair with Wang Tianlong and a prenatal report confirming her three-month pregnancy.
• Song Yutang watched surveillance footage of Miss Lin ending her meeting with Song Mingzhe after condemning his treatment of his birth mother.
• Song Yutang and Jiang Muyan discussed Sun Meifang’s plans for Song Jianye’s assets and the scheme to push her pregnant niece onto Song Mingzhe.
• Song Yutang asked Butler Wang to expose Sun Meifang’s schemes to Song Mingzhe, and Butler Wang offered to use his informants in the Song Family and at Song Mingzhe’s company.