Gao Cheng
Also in fall 549, Gao Cheng was meeting Chen Yuankang (陳元康), Yang Yin, and Cui Jishu, to secretly discuss the timeframe in which to take the throne, when his servant Lan Jing (蘭京) – a son of the Liang general Lan Qin (蘭欽) Gao Cheng captured in battle, and whom Gao Cheng had repeatedly threatened to kill – assassinated Gao Cheng and Chen. Gao Cheng's brother Gao Yang the Duke of Taiyuan, who was also in Yecheng at the time, killed Lan Jing and his associates, and publicly declared only that Gao Cheng had been wounded. Emperor Xiaojing, however, believed that Gao Cheng was dead, and secretly made the remark, "It is heaven's will that the Grand Marshal [(大將軍, "Dà Jiāngjūn", Gao Cheng's title at that time)] is dead. The power to rule should return to the imperial clan."