Zu Ting himself was, in his youth, known for his quick reactions and literary talent, and he eventually became a low-level official.
Zu was also fluent in the Xianbei language, at that time a rarity for ethnically Han officials.
He spent much time seeking thrills with other junior officials Chen Yuankang (陳元康), Mu Zirong (穆子容), Ren Zhou (任冑), and Yuan Shiliang (元士亮), including gambling and luxury living.
On account of the well-written text and the speed in which it was written, Gao Huan retracted the sentence of hard labor, but still removed him from his post.
Not changing his ways, he again secretly sold volumes of the Hualin Pianlüe, and was again sentenced to death by hanging.
As Emperor Wenxuan, he remembered Zu Ting's talent and recalled him to serve in his administration, putting him in charge of drafting edicts.
It was probably during Emperor Wenxuan's reign when Zu first befriended Emperor Wenxuan's younger brother Gao Zhan, the Prince of Changguang, as one of Zu's talents was making walnut oil for paintings, and he once offered walnut oil to Gao Zhan.
When he did so, he commented, "According to fortunetelling principles, Your Royal Highness' bone structure shows great honor.
Around the new year 566, by Zu's suggestion, Emperor Wenxuan's posthumous name was changed to Jinglie (景烈), and his temple name to Weizong, both of which were still complimentary but less so than before.
In 567, the ambitious Zu, wanting further promotion, wrote petitions accusing He Shikai, Zhao Yanshen (趙彥深), and Gao Wenyao (高文遙) of crimes and requested his friend Liu Ti (劉逖), a secretary to the emperor, to submit the petitions for him.
Liu refused, but He Shikai, Zhao, and Gao Wenyao received the news and prepared to defend themselves.
His anger grew even more heated when Zu first compared him to Xiang Yu and then pointed out that his accomplishments were far less.
Emperor Wucheng battered and whipped him and sentenced him to hard labor, and subsequently had him confined to a dungeon in Guang Province (光州, roughly modern Yantai, Shandong).
When, subsequently, Gao Wei's uncle Hu Changren (胡長仁) the Prince of Longdong formed a failed plot to assassinate He Shikai, it was Zu who suggested citing the example of how Emperor Wen of Han forced his uncle Bo Zhao (薄昭) to commit suicide to persuade Gao Wei to force Hu to commit suicide, as Gao Wei eventually did.
In 571, Gao Wei's younger brother Gao Yan the Prince of Langye, unable to stand the hold that He Shikai had on power, killed him by trickery, but subsequently failed in seizing power when the famed general Hulü Guang refused to side with him and was put under house arrest.
Once, when he was resting at a governmental building, Zu, who was blind, rode past him without realizing that Hulü was there, and never got off the horse as demanded by customs of the time.
Meanwhile, Zu, controlling the government, wanted to reorganize it to make it more efficient, reducing duplication in official responsibilities and wastefulness.
He also wanted to remove incompetent and/or corrupt officials as well as reducing the ranks of eunuchs—but Lady Lu and Mu Tipo opposed.
Gao Wei, because he had sworn an oath to Zu earlier, spared him from death, but demoted him to the governorship of North Xu Province (北徐州, roughly modern Linyi, Shandong).
Also in 572, Chen launched a major attack on Northern Qi, capturing the area between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers within a span of several months.
Zu subsequently died while still serving as the governor of North Xu Province, but the year is not recorded in history.