After Removal
Huan Wen, however, wanted to further reduce the former emperor's rank, and he proposed that the prince be reduced to commoner status. Empress Dowager Chu resisted, and only reduced his rank to Duke of Haixi. Huan, apprehensive that the former emperor may try to return to the throne, had him exiled to Wu (吳縣, in modern Suzhou, Jiangsu) and put under heavy guard.
In winter 372, the Taoist agrarian rebel Lu Song (盧悚) claimed to have an edict from Empress Dowager Chu to restore Emperor Fei, and he sent a messenger to the duke to persuade him to join the rebellion. Initially the duke believed him, but later realized that if the empress dowager wanted to restore him, she would send imperial guards to escort him, and therefore realized that there was no edict. Without the duke's support, Lu's rebellion collapsed.
In exile, the former emperor constantly feared death, so he spent his time indulging drinking, music, and women, to show to Huan that he had no desire for political actions. Whenever his concubines bore children, he would not dare to nurture them, but instead strangled them (so that he would not prove Huan wrong). As this became evident, Huan began to relax the restrictions against him. He died in 386 and was buried in Wu. His wife, Empress Yu, was disinterred to be reburied with him.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Fei Of Jin
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