Probably annoyed, Emperor Renzong not only did nothing to Zhang Yaozuo, he awarded Consort Zhang's sister with a title 4 days later. But Bao did not give up. In another memorandum submitted by himself alone, he wrote:  Partly to appease protests by Bao and others, the emperor relieved Zhang Yaozuo from the state finance commissioner, but instead appointed him a concurrent four-commissioner position: commissioner of palace attendant, military commissioner of Huainan, Qunmu military commissioner-in-chief (), and commissioner of Jingling Palace (). In a memorandum dated December 26, Bao voiced his strong protest and wrote:  In the next court meeting to authenticate these posts, there was a heated argument in court led by 7 ministers including Bao, which resulted in the removal of commissioner of palace attendant and commissioner of Jingling Palace from Zhang's appointment. A few decades later, Zhu Bian (朱弁, 1085–1144) wrote a humorous account in his "Anecdotes from Quwei" (), which probably contributed to the development of future legends:  During his years in the government service, Bao had thirty high officials demoted or dismissed for corruption, bribery, or dereliction of duty. In addition, as the imperial censor, Bao avoided punishment despite many other contemporary imperial censors having been punished for minor statements. In 1057, Bao was appointed the magistrate of the capital city of Bian (present day Kaifeng). Bao held the position for a mere period of one year, but he initiated several material administrative reforms, including allowing the citizens to directly lodge complaints with the city administrators, thereby bypassing the city clerks who were believed to be corrupt and in the pay of local powerful families. Although Bao gained much fame and popularity from his reforms, his service after the tenure as Magistrate of Bian was controversial. For example, when Bao dismissed Zhang Fangping (), who concurrently held three important offices, Bao was appointed to these offices as Zhang's successor. Ouyang Xiu () then filed a rebuke against Bao. Bao had also been the Minister of Finance. Despite his high rank in the government, Bao led a modest life like a commoner. Apart from his intolerance of injustice and corruption, Bao was well known for his filial piety and his stern demeanor. In his lifetime, Bao gained the name "Iron-Faced Judge" () and it was also said among the public that his smile was "rarer than clear waters in the Yellow River".