Wu Sansi
Meanwhile, the coup leaders initially did not regard Wu Sansi as a threat, and they brushed aside suggestions by two lower level officials participating in the coup, Xue Jichang (薛季昶) and Liu Youqiu. However, they soon realized that Wu Sansi's power was on the rise, and they unsuccessfully suggested Emperor Zhongzong to kill some of the more powerful Wu clan members (which would have included Wu Sansi) or to demote them—and indeed, he made Wu Sansi "Sikong" (司空, one of the Three Excellencies) and chancellor again with the designation "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin" (同中書門下三品, a modification of the "Tong Fengge Luantai Sanpin" designation that Wu Zetian used), although Wu Sansi declined the titles. Meanwhile, Emperor Zhongzong designated 16 officials, including the coup leaders but also Wu Sansi and his cousin Wu Youji (the husband of Emperor Zhongzong's sister Princess Taiping), as contributors to his return to the throne and gave them iron certificates that were supposed to guarantee that they would be spared of death penalties 10 times except for treason.