The Song dynasty is often regarded as one in which scholar-officials and emperors ruled together. What exactly does it mean? How did scholar-officials and emperors interact within the backdrop of powerful scholar-officialdom? How did scholar-officials manage to persuade emperors to act in their favor? How was the power of the emperor operated in name and in reality? This paper tries to answer these questions with the case of Zhao Bian, a famous scholar-official that served three reigns (Renzong, Yingzong and Shenzong) as a junior official in charge of policy recommendation and one of the most senior officials.