and therefore took no action. Song soon became Yushi Zhongcheng (), one of the deputy chief imperial censors. In 704, when Zhang Changzong was accused of having had inappropriate discussions with the fortuneteller Li Hongtai (), who had told him that he had the appearance of an emperor, Song pressed on with the investigation even though Wu Zetian and the chancellor Yang Zaisi signaled to him that he should stop the investigation. He even had Wu Zetian approve an interrogation of Zhang Changzong, although as the interrogation had just commenced, Wu Zetian issued an edict pardoning Zhang Changzong. Song sighed, "I should have first cracked that villain's skull." When Wu Zetian subsequently had Zhang Changzong try to meet Song to thank him for the release, Song refused to meet Zhang Changzong. During Emperor Zhongzong's second reign In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup, and Li Xian, formerly emperor, was restored to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Song Jing became the deputy minister of civil service affairs (), and as Emperor Zhongzong favored Song for his morals, he also gave Song the title of imperial consultant (諫議大夫, Jianyi Daifu). Soon thereafter, he was made Huangmen Shilang (), the deputy head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng). At that time, Wu Zetian's nephew and Emperor Zhongzong's cousin Wu Sansi the Prince of Dejing, who was also the lover of Emperor Zhongzong's powerful wife Empress Wei, was very powerful. On one occasion, Wu Sansi made a request to Song and Song sternly rejected, stating: In summer 706, when the hermit Wei Yuejiang () submitted an accusation of the adulterous relationship between Wu Sansi and Empress Wei, Emperor Zhongzong was incensed and was set to execute Wei Yuejiang. Song refused, stating that executing Wei Yuejiang would merely bring more rumors and that if Emperor Zhongzong were to execute Wei Yuejiang, he needed to execute Song first. Meanwhile, other officials, including Su Xiang (), Xu Jian (), and Yin Sizhen (), pointed out that it was inappropriate to execute anyone during the summer. Emperor Zhongzong thus spared Wei Yuejiang and exiled him to the Lingnan region. (However, Wei Yuejiang ultimately was unable to escape death, as Empress Wei's associate Zhou Rengui (), then the commandant at Guang Prefecture (廣州, roughly modern Guangzhou, Guangdong), executed Wei Yuejiang as soon as fall came.) Soon thereafter, Wu Sansi had Song sent out of