At the beginning of Zhao Shu's accession to the throne, due to illness, Empress Cao was later lowered to listen to the government. Some eunuchs continued to speak ill of Zhao Shu to the Empress Dowager Cao, causing a rift between the two palaces to sprout, and the relationship was quite tense.

In order to mediate the conflict between the two palaces, Han Qi and Ouyang Xiuxian said to the Empress Dowager Cao: "You have been waiting for the first emperor Renzong for so many years, who in the world does not know that you are a virtuous, generous, benevolent, and accessible person, why do you have trouble with your son now? He is a sick person, you can't be like him." Do you want others to talk about you like other stepmothers in the world?" They said to Zhao Shu: "Since ancient times, there have been countless virtuous monarchs in the world, why do people only praise Shun as a great filial son? Aren't everyone else filial? Of course not. It is common for parents to be loving and children to be filial. If the parents do not do well and the children are still filial, then it is commendable. Don't you know what kind of person the Queen Mother was in the past? You just have to do your filial piety as a son of man, and I believe that the Queen Mother will not treat you badly. Under everyone's persuasion, the contradictions between the two houses were gradually eased.

In May 1064, Zhao Shu recovered from his illness, and Empress Dowager Cao withdrew and returned to power. Only half a month after Zhao Shu was in power, Prime Minister Han Qi and others proposed to him to ask the relevant departments to discuss the issue of Zhao Shu's biological father's identity. At that time, it had been 14 months since Renzong's death, and Zhao Shu instructed to wait for Renzong Daxiang (one of the funeral ceremonies of the Han people in ancient China, a ceremony held on the second anniversary (i.e., the twenty-fifth month) of the funeral of his father and mother).

In the first year of Zhiping (1064), a major flood occurred in Gyeonggi, Song, Bo, Chen, Xu, Ru, Cai, Tang, Ying, Cao, Pu, Ji, Shan, Hao, Si, Lu, Shou, Chu, Hangzhou, Xuan, Hong, Hubei, Shi, Chongqing and other prefectures, and the Guanghua Army and Gaoyou Army were flooded.

In the same year, the son of Xifan Blind Felt deceived Mi Zheng and returned to the Song Dynasty.

On the ninth day of the fourth lunar month in the second year of Zhiping (1065), Han Qi and others once again raised the issue of the identity of Zhao Shu's biological father, so Zhao Shu issued an edict to send the bill to the Taichang Rite Yuan and handed it over to officials above the two systems for discussion. This led to a controversy that lasted for 18 months, which was the "Pu Yi" incident in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty.

In 1066 A.D., the ministers of Zhongshu jointly discussed in the vertical arch hall, when Han Qi was worshipping at home, Zhao Shu specially summoned it to discuss, at that time it was agreed (Zhao Shu's biological father) Pu Wang called the imperial examination, Ouyang Xiu personally wrote two edicts, handed over to Zhao Shu a copy. By noon, the Queen Mother sent a eunuch to send a sealed document to Zhongshu Province, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu and others opened the paperwork, looked at each other and smiled. This document is the edict drafted by Ouyang Xiu, and it is signed by the Queen Mother. Zhao Shu immediately issued an edict to stop the discussion. At the same time, he summoned the prime minister and the ruling people to discuss how to calm the mood of the officials and stabilize the situation. Zhao Shu finally agreed with the opinions of Ouyang Xiu and others, and demoted Lu Yu and the other three imperial historians from the Beijing Division.

On the eighth day of November 1066, Zhao Shu fell ill again, and in December of the same year, at the suggestion of the prime minister Han Qi, the eldest son Zhao Wei was appointed as the crown prince.

One day, Zhao Shu said to Zhao Ji: "According to the old system of the country, the sons of scholars and doctors are married to the emperor's daughters, and the princesses avoid the status of their in-laws because of their high value, which is unreasonable." I have always been thinking about this, and when I wake up and go to bed, I feel uneasy about it, how can I go against the ordinary order of human ethics because of wealth and nobility? I can order the relevant departments to change this rule. In the face of illness, Zhao Shu did not realize this wish.

On January 25, 1067, Zhao Shu died of illness in Funing Palace, at the age of 36, buried in the west step of the palace, the temple number Yingzong, and the ministers went to the Xianwen Suwu Xuanxiao Emperor. On August 27, Zhao Shu was buried in Yonghou Mausoleum (now Gongyi Xiaoyi Fort, Henan).

Politically, Zhao Shu continued to appoint Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi and other important ministers of the reformists at the time of Renzong. In view of the maladministration since Renzong, Zhao Shu raised the issue of rectifying the accumulated defects to the ruling ministers and solicited the opinions of the ministers, and also issued an edict to extend the transfer period of officials of all ranks, which to a certain extent alleviated the pressure on the imperial court's finances caused by the phenomenon of "redundant officials." In order to recruit talents and select talents for the country, Zhao Shu ordered the minister to recommend talented people to fill the museum position.

Economically, when Zhao Shu was in power, the treasury such as the Sealed Pile Treasury and the Zuozang Treasury was empty. Taking 1065 A.D. as an example, although the annual income of the Song Dynasty reached 116.13 million silver taels in this year, the official and military expenditures reached 120.34 million silver taels, which was beyond their means.

In terms of culture, Zhao Shu also attaches great importance to reading and compiling books. In 1064 AD, Sima Guang wrote a "Calendar Chart" and presented it to Zhao Shu, who praised it.

In 1066 AD, Zhao Shu ordered Sima Guang to set up a bureau to specialize in the "Zizhi Tongjian". Zhao Shu agreed to Sima Guang's request to hire an assistant to set up a bookstore to compile the deeds of the monarchs and ministers of the past dynasties, and instructed that the bookstore be set up in the Chongwen Academy, and that he was specially allowed to secondment the books of the Longtu Pavilion, the Tianzhang Pavilion, the Zhaowen Pavilion, the History Museum, the Jixian Academy, and the Secret Pavilion. Not only that, Zhao Shu also approved the provision of pen, ink and silk for the emperor, allocated special funds, provided fruits and cakes for the staff of the bookstore, and transferred eunuchs to serve. Zhao Shu's instructions greatly improved the conditions for Sima Guang to compile and revise historical books, so that the grand undertaking of compiling the "Zizhi Tongjian" had a solid backing from the very beginning. In order to repay Zhao Shu's kindness, Sima Guang spent all his energy on the compilation of the huge work "Zizhi Tongjian" for the next 19 years.