It was also known as Nande hutu (Chinese: 難得糊塗 roughly lucky to be blessed with foolishness) a motto of the Qing dynasty painter that the series is a fictionalised account of.

The series was aired in Taiwan in 2006, by TVB subsidiary TVBS Entertainment Channel, breaking viewership records for the 8.00 p.m. time slot.

Late in the sixty-year-long reign of the Kangxi Emperor, Zheng Ban Kiu is a young artist hoping to become famous in the city of Yangzhou.

Supporting himself through the sale of his paintings, Zheng eventually fell in love with Wong Yut Che, a girl from a wealthy family.

Hearing about the Emperor's passing, Wong's mother realized that Zheng's dreams to a bright future was gone, so she substituted her adopted daughter, Chui Chun Heung as the bride.

However, Wong's mother became fearful and impatient, she stole the duplicate scroll from Zheng and sets in place the downfall of her family.

Yiu Ng-mui has taken the place of Chui, and devotes herself to caring for Zheng, earning a reputation as a good and dutiful wife.

Zheng however has convinced himself that in losing Chui, he has lost the one true love of his life, and is cold and indifferent to Yiu.