The Stepmother Has Delicious Food — Prince Daddy, Hurry and Surrender

Lin Youyou was the legitimate eldest daughter of Lin Chaowen, an Assistant Minister of Works, and his wife, Madam Xu. For eight years, she and her mother lived in seclusion in Peach Blossom Village under the guise of recuperation, while Lin Chaowen remained in the capital with his family. In her previous life, Lin Youyou was weak and sickly. She died during an assassination attempt in the village, only to have her soul transmigrate into the twenty-first century. There, she spent years mastering martial arts and surviving in a harsh modern world, driven by the regret of being unable to protect her mother. Upon her death in that timeline, her soul returned to the moment of her murder in the ancient world, reborn with the skills and knowledge of a future warrior.

When the assassins attacked Peach Blossom Village, the girl who opened her eyes was no longer the fragile child her mother remembered. She killed six professional killers with terrifying efficiency, using a silver hairpin and a stolen sword. The surviving assassin revealed that a woman had hired them because Lin Youyou and her mother were in her way. Though Madam Xu was terrified by her daughter’s ruthless transformation, Lin Youyou explained that her soul had traveled through time and returned to protect her. Understanding that the assassins would return, Lin Youyou decided they must leave the village immediately and return to the capital to seek safety within the Lin residence.

During their journey back, the pair encountered another assassination attempt on the road. Just as Lin Youyou was overwhelmed by a group of elite killers, a mysterious man named He San, also known as Third Master He, arrived with his guards and eliminated the threat. He San was actually He Yiling, the Prince of Yi, who had been searching for his runaway daughter, Doudou. Doudou had been hiding under the carriage and was revealed to be the child He San had been protecting. The two parties traveled together to the capital, with Lin Youyou bonding with Doudou over their shared love of food. Lin Youyou used her modern culinary knowledge to prepare dishes like roasted meat, milk tea, and popcorn chicken, which won over the young princess and the stoic prince alike.

Upon arriving in the capital, Lin Youyou and her mother faced immediate hostility from the Lin household staff, who had been instructed to ignore their existence. The gatekeeper refused to recognize Madam Xu as the matriarch, forcing her to wait outside in the street until Lin Chaowen returned. When Lin Chaowen arrived, he was initially overjoyed to see his wife, but the situation revealed a deep rift caused by intercepted correspondence. Lin Youyou confronted her father, revealing that letters between him and his wife had been secretly blocked for eight years, likely by the old madam or the second daughter-in-law, Zhang Shi. This revelation shattered the illusion of familial harmony and exposed the political maneuvering within the household.

Lin Chaowen, furious at the betrayal and the near-loss of his family, took decisive action. He punished the gatekeeper and welcomed his wife and daughter into the residence. However, tensions remained high. The old madam, who had risen from a concubine to power, viewed Madam Xu’s return as a threat to her authority. During a visit to the old madam’s courtyard, Madam Xu boldly defended her dignity, refusing to submit to the disrespect she had endured for years. Backed by Lin Chaowen’s unwavering support, she declared her intention to live freely rather than suffer in silence. Meanwhile, Lin Youyou established a small kitchen in her courtyard, using her cooking skills to strengthen family bonds and assert her presence. The story concludes with the family beginning to navigate the treacherous waters of noble politics, with Lin Youyou poised to uncover the truth behind the assassination attempts and protect her mother from the shadows of the Lin household.