During the reign of Emperor Renzong, nothing major happened. The scholar-bureaucrats also enjoyed peace, and there was a lot of poetry and wine. All the famous officials at that time left rich records in this regard. Except for Bao Zheng, there are almost no traces of his private life. History books record that he never wrote personal letters, had few friends, and did not communicate with relatives. Bao Zheng's writings passed down include a short poem in his early years, a stone inscription in Duanzhou, a family motto in his later years, and the rest are all memorials.

There is a saying in the ancient philosophy book "Zengguang Xianwen" that "when the water is clear, there will be no fish, and when people are clear enough, there will be no disciples." Bao Zheng was so meticulous and demanding that he rarely interacted with court officials.

Among the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, Bao Zheng and Wen Yanbo were closer. This was also because they were classmates and good friends when they were young and passed the same examination. Moreover, there is no record in the history books how close Bao Zheng and Wen Yanbo were. Bao Zheng once alienated Wu Kui when he was demoted from Beijing. This was also because they had mostly the same political views and were "fighting" political partners with the Communist Party.

Historically, people in the Song Dynasty loved records most, and narratives became a common practice. However, among the vast collection of works, there are very few records of Bao Zheng. For example, Wang Anshi and Bao Zheng were recommended by Ouyang Xiu together, and they had a superior-subordinate relationship, so they were always somewhat submissive. However, in his collection of essays "Mr. Linchuan Collection", there is not a single mention of Bao Zheng. The same is true for most other people's anthologies. Fortunately, Wu Kui wrote an epitaph for him, and together with Zhang Tian, ??who claimed to be a disciple of Bao Zheng, compiled all of Bao Zheng's memorials into a collection. Without these two people, Bao Zheng's image would probably only be recorded in Yuan dramas today.

According to the records of Zhu Xi, a famous thinker in the Southern Song Dynasty, Bao Zheng has been very rigorous in dealing with others and very cautious in dealing with interpersonal relationships since he was a student.

According to records, when Bao Zheng was about seventeen or eighteen years old, which was about the same age as today's high school students, such an interesting thing happened.

Bao Zheng was studying in Xinghua Temple with a classmate named Li. Both of them were outstanding among the students at that time. In the alley leading to the temple lived a wealthy businessman. This wealthy businessman had a high reputation in the local area. He also admired students with excellent morals and academics such as Bao Zheng very much, and wanted to get closer to these students.

Once when Bao Zheng and his classmates surnamed Li were going to school, they passed by the door of a wealthy businessman. The wealthy businessman was standing at the door of his house and invited them to come in and sit for a while to get to know each other. At that time, they all felt very sudden. Declined politely.

A few days later, the wealthy businessman specially prepared food and wine, and sincerely invited Bao Zheng and the classmate surnamed Li to his home. The two were about to refuse again, but the wealthy businessman said that he would entertain them. The classmate surnamed Li felt that the hospitality was hard to refuse, so he wanted to agree. But Bao Zheng said to him: "He is a very rich man, and we are scholars. If we take part in the imperial examination to gain fame and return to our hometown to serve as officials in the future, having such contact with him today is not for the future." Does it add to the burden?" As a result, Bao Zheng and the classmate surnamed Li did not go to the banquet.

For someone as young as Bao Zheng to be able to withstand the temptation of a rich man's banquet, this shows that he was strict with himself and ambitious when he was young. Bao Zheng was very cautious throughout his life and did not develop personal relationships, even after he obtained the imperial examination.

In ancient official circles, the friendship between fellow villagers was very important. Some people had strong nostalgia and would promote and train fellow villagers regardless of the cost without the benefits.

When Bao Zheng went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, fellow countryman Lu Yijian was serving as prime minister. Lu Yijian heard that there was a Bao Zheng in his hometown who was both good in character and learning. He had always wanted to meet Bao Zheng, but he was busy with government affairs and the journey was long, so he didn't have the chance.

Finally, Bao Zheng went to Beijing to take the exam, and the house Bao Zheng rented at the time happened to be in the same alley as Lu Yijian's mansion. According to the official rules at that time, after candidates passed the Jinshi examination, they would visit high-ranking officials from the same hometown. Even if there were no high-ranking officials from the same hometown, they would still visit some powerful officials. Lu Yijian, who had been in officialdom for many years, knew that Bao Zheng was a Jinshi in high school, so he naturally thought that Bao Zheng would take the initiative to visit him, so he sat at home and waited.

Unexpectedly, after a few days, Bao Zheng still didn't come. After Lu Yijian sent someone to inquire, he found that Bao Zheng had accepted the appointment from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and left Beijing to take up his post.

After Lu Yijian was furious, he then thought that the person who acted like this must have something to rely on, which was extraordinary.

Therefore, during the first few years when Bao Zheng entered his official career, Lu Yijian took care of him. When Bao Zheng completed his term in Duanzhou and went to Beijing to serve as an official, Lu Yijian also played a role in promoting and training Bao Zheng.

The strangest thing is that Bao Zheng never smiles. There was a popular saying at that time: "Bao Zheng smiles, and the Yellow River becomes clear." It means that Bao Zheng's smile is rarer than the Yellow River becoming clear. There is no record in historical records that Bao Zheng had a disease similar to facial nerve paralysis. In an environment where people govern, Bao Zheng must rely on a serious expression to deter lawbreakers. If he always smiles when he sees people, others will definitely no longer feel fear, which will also be detrimental to law enforcement. Bao Zheng is so cautious even if he laughs, let alone making friends? A person who cannot laugh, no matter how admirable or upright his character, is rarely liked to have such a colleague, such a neighbor, or such a nephew.

Wang Yun, a famous minister of the Yuan Dynasty, once left a quatrain when he stayed at the government office in Kaifeng at night:

"Brush off the remaining monuments to see the splendor of virtue, and leave behind the inscriptions after thousands of years of practice; The frightened birds circled the cypress trees in the courtyard, still afraid of the power of frost and did not dare to perch."

It is precisely because of Bao Zheng's incomprehension and strict officialdom that he has to restrain his personal relationships to prevent relatives and friends from bending the law for personal gain. .