Deeply influenced by his master and adoptive father Dai Yougong (Liu Jiahui), the highly intelligent Zhou Bing (Ma Guoming) conveniently joined the ranks of officialdom's strategists. However, he adheres to his moral principles and looks down on the various bad habits among the strategists. He spends his days idling away his time, often going to taverns to pass the time with wine and women. He becomes infatuated with Zhuang Xiaoxian (Tong Ning), the understanding owner of the tavern, which makes his醋坛子official wife Zhao Yuqing (Xu Zishan) jealous and angry, leading her to relentlessly pursue and confront him. Concerned for Zhou Bing, Dai Yougong recommends him as a strategist for the new official Shen Junbo (Gao Junxian). After some initial friction and mutual suspicion, the two gradually become close allies. However, Zhou Bing unintentionally discovers that his master Yougong is actually Junbo's biological father. To protect his career, the unscrupulous Junbo uses Yuqing's secret identity to manipulate others into committing murder. It is then that Zhou Bing realizes that his wife of many years was actually a secret spy sent by the court to monitor him...