Yummy Yummy Yummy Episode 17 Recap
> Yummy Yummy Yummy Recap
Prince Zhao was furious that the Shen family had escaped, which only served to reinforce his belief in their importance to Lin Yan. Prince Zhao, speaking to his subordinate, expressed his frustration, noting how "This family really have a lot of sly ideas." He was surprised that "Lin Yan actually disregarded his dignity to come to me and ask for them," concluding that the Shen family was "far more influential than I imagined." He lamented, "This family is so cunning.
They actually managed to escape. Otherwise, we would have pried the truth out of them." Li Xun suggested a simpler solution than manipulating Lin Yan through the Shen family: "Get rid of him." He acknowledged Prince Zhao's reluctance, saying, "I know you've raised him for many years and cannot bear to do it. But raising a tiger invites disaster." Prince Zhao, however, dismissed the idea, stating, "We'll talk about it later."
Meanwhile, the Shen family had been running for a long time and were exhausted. Shen Jianshe suggested they rest, believing their pursuers wouldn't catch up quickly, and Li Fengxia admitted she couldn't run anymore. As they rested by a small river, Shen Shaojie noticed that the plant Shen Yangyang had picked looked like smartweed.
Li Fengxia excitedly confirmed it was edible and began listing all the spicy dishes she could make with it, such as "Hot and sour noodles, boiled fish in spicy soup, Mapo tofu, spicy chicken cubes, spicy boiled blood curd." Shen Yangyang asked if they could take more smartweed home to make spicy strips.
Shen Shaoguang reassured her, mentioning she had already dug up several plants and planned to create a "spicy dish special" back home, which would be "much more useful than the dogwood they like to use here." Suddenly, soldiers appeared. Li Fengxia immediately ordered Shen Shaoguang to take Shen Yangyang and leave, declaring she would stay and fight.
She told Shen Shaoguang to lead Shen Yangyang away, boasting that she would show the soldiers "what it means to be a heroine," drawing on her past as a discus thrower. Shen Shaojie, ever the opportunist, quipped that this explained why her pinches hurt so much. Shen Shaoguang, with a soldier in close pursuit, ran into the woods.
Realizing she couldn't outrun him with Shen Yangyang, she quickly hid the child in some tall grass, instructing her to "just hide here. Don't make a sound. I'll make spicy strips for you after I come back. Don't make a sound." Shen Shaoguang then drew the soldier away in a different direction, taunting him, "You little brat, come here. Come catch me." The other members of the Shen family were quickly apprehended by the soldiers.
As a soldier prepared to harm Li Fengxia, Shen Jianshe intervened, but the soldier retorted, "You're courting death." Just then, Lin Yan arrived, proclaiming, "You're the ones courting death." He then warned the soldiers, "Take this message back. If you lay a hand on the Shen family again, I will never let it slide," before telling them to "Get lost!" Lin Yan then asked Shen Jianshe where Shen Shaoguang and Shen Yangyang had gone.
Shen Jianshe pointed in the direction they ran. Shen Yangyang was soon found, and she explained that her auntie had "diverted the bad guys to save me" and hadn't returned, indicating the direction Shen Shaoguang had gone. Shen Shaoguang, still being pursued, found herself trapped at the edge of a cliff. The soldier urged her to surrender, promising not to harm her. Lin Yan appeared behind the soldier.
The soldier, seeing Lin Yan, threatened to "cut off your hands and feet and mutilate you." Shen Shaoguang, trying to save Lin Yan, interjected that a mutilated hostage would be "meaningless" and promised, "I will never lie to you again." The soldier dismissed her, turning back to Lin Yan and questioning, "Do you think I'll believe you a second time?"
He then threw a dart, causing both Shen Shaoguang and Lin Yan to lose their footing and fall over the cliff. Lin Yan managed to grab Shen Shaoguang, holding on desperately. As they dangled, Shen Shaoguang, terrified, pleaded, "Mr. Lin, save me. Save me. You said you'd save me. I haven't lived enough yet. There are still many things I haven't eaten yet. I haven't yet made the Shen's Diner bigger and stronger.
I also said I want to make affordable food for everyone." Lin Yan reassured her, "Hold on to me. I will definitely get you up. I swear on my life, you will absolutely be fine." The soldier, determined to eliminate them, threw another dart, striking Lin Yan in the chest. Blood began to seep from his wound. Shen Shaoguang, seeing his injury, worried he couldn't hold on, fearing for his mission to overturn the Cui family case.
The soldier taunted Lin Yan, questioning why he would sacrifice himself "for a woman." Shen Shaoguang, believing Lin Yan could survive if she let go, began to consider sacrificing herself. She told Lin Yan, "Please help me take care of my family more in the future. You don't know how much I appreciate you during this time. You really are a very good person. What you are going to do will surely succeed."
Lin Yan, realizing her intent, desperately cried out, "Shen Shaoguang, don't be impulsive. Hold on to me!" The soldier watched the unfolding drama with cruel amusement. Just as Shen Shaoguang prepared to let go, Shen Shaojie arrived at the cliff's edge. He struck the soldier on the back of the head with a rock, then found a long stick and extended it to Shen Shaoguang and Lin Yan, shouting for them to grab it.
Once they were safely on solid ground, Lin Yan, despite the dart still embedded in his chest, immediately embraced Shen Shaoguang. The rest of the Shen family looked on, speechless. Liu Chang soon arrived to escort Lin Yan and the Shen family back to Yunshui Manor. Later, Shen Shaoguang prepared medicine for Lin Yan. Seeing the blood stain spreading on his chest, she was filled with mixed emotions, realizing he had risked his life for her.
However, the generational gap between them created an uncomfortable barrier in her thoughts. Disturbed, she accidentally knocked over some case files. As Lin Yan helped pick them up, he noticed that the records were meticulously written without a single error or amendment, making it clear they were copies. The next day, Lin Yan brought the case files to Cao Rong, confirming his suspicion that they were recopied.
Cao Rong lamented that Fifth Master Xiao, a key figure in the original case, was still in a coma and couldn't speak. Cao Rong then revealed that Fifth Master Xiao was known for his meticulous record-keeping, constantly carrying a tablet or slips to document events, earning him the nickname "Attendant Prince Consort." He deduced that Fifth Master Xiao would have kept personal notes during his investigation, which might contain crucial new clues.
Around this time, a letter arrived from Prince Zhao in Sushui City, apologizing and blaming the pursuit of the Shen family on his third son, Li Ang, stating he had already reprimanded him. Lin Yan's suspicions about Prince Zhao intensified. He noted that in his youth, Prince Zhao had always presented himself as reasonable and approachable, even apologizing to a child like him. But now, shifting all blame to Li Ang was just another tactic.
Considering the aging emperor and how the selling official positions case had led to the replacement of almost all officials in the Ministry of War, Lin Yan theorized that the true beneficiary was Prince Zhao, who sought to replace the court's "ears, tongues, mouths, and eyes" to become a "true 'lonely ruler'."
Cao Rong acknowledged Prince Zhao would not want them to continue investigating if the theory was true, but stressed that suspicious points alone were not enough to conclude his involvement. Lin Yan decided to put these thoughts aside for now, confident that Prince Zhao, out of caution, wouldn't rashly interfere in Yong'an.
Liu Chang then suggested it would be prudent to send the Shen family away from Yunshui Manor as soon as possible, but before Lin Yan could respond, the Shen family appeared before them. The Shen family had come to visit Lin Yan, expressing concern for his injuries. Li Fengxia then recounted their experience in the dungeon in Sushui City, where Prince Zhao's son, Li Ang, had interrogated them about Lin Yan's secrets.
Shen Shaoguang explained that because she knew Lin Yan's true identity as a descendant of the Cui family, which she believed Prince Zhao already knew, she revealed it to Li Ang. To ensure their survival and provide Li Ang with new information, she then fabricated a story that Lin Yan was attempting to "cling to Princess" for protection. Lin Yan did not blame Shen Shaoguang, instead expressing remorse that his affairs had caused the Shen family such hardship.
Shen Jianshe immediately declared that the Shen family would now consider Lin Yan their own family and would stand firmly by his side to help overturn the Cui family case. He emphasized that in their eyes, Lin Yan was like their own child, and they would protect him. Shen Shaojie, playing along, humorously welcomed Lin Yan as his "little brother." Lin Yan was deeply moved by their unwavering support and love, experiencing the warmth of a true family.
Liu Chang, witnessing this heartfelt exchange, was visibly touched and cried tears of emotion. The Shen family decided to use their diner business as a front to gather intelligence for Lin Yan. Shen Jianshe suggested the diner was like a teahouse, where people from all walks of life gathered to discuss matters, making it an ideal place to "pick up some useful information."
Shen Shaojie enthusiastically presented some "intelligence," including a tip about the Emperor's loss of appetite from Third Master Wen's cousin, and later, news of the "cat theft case" through Aunt Ge's distant relative. Lin Yan clarified that the cat had already been found, taken by the Crown Prince, and the Emperor had already addressed the matter.
Li Fengxia, however, shared a more significant piece of information: Mr. Meng, Left Supervisor and head of all officials, was deeply concerned about his granddaughter's marriage, as his own daughter's unfortunate marriage had led to her early demise. She heard he was interested in marrying his granddaughter to Lin Yan. At this, Lin Yan and Shen Shaoguang briefly locked eyes.
Shen Shaoguang quickly interjected, suggesting they shouldn't interfere with Lin Yan's private matters, though Lin Yan did not explicitly state whether he would accept the proposal. Later, Shen Shaoguang inquired about schooling for Shen Yangyang and discovered that Hongwen Academy was the best institution in Yong'an, where Grand Tutor Zhao Xunzhi taught. She also learned from the Jinwu Guard acquaintance that Zhao Xunzhi had been a disciple of Lin Yan's father twenty years prior.
Lin Yan confirmed this, explaining that after his family's misfortune, Zhao Xunzhi had stopped mentioning their connection to avoid suspicion. While out shopping with A Yuan, Shen Shaoguang seemed distracted. She described a "sad story" from a book about a lady who fell off a cliff and was rescued by a handsome young man. The lady, initially selfish, eventually chose to sacrifice herself to save her rescuer. A Yuan immediately assumed the lady must have "really loved that person."
Shen Shaoguang quickly denied it, insisting it was "not important" and that the rescuer would "eventually marry someone else." She then emphatically stated that the lady was "not sad" and added, almost to herself, "How could she be sad? This is too perverse." Her agitated response and firm denials revealed her own internal conflict and unspoken feelings for Lin Yan, complicated by their perceived familial relationship.
