Pei Yan
By 689, Zhou Xing had become a powerful official—as he had been in charge of many politically charged investigations carried out against officials and nobles under Empress Dowager Wu's direction. He still resented Wei for what he thought was Wei's role in blocking his promotion. Wei had been great friends with fellow chancellor Pei Yan, who was executed in 684 for what Empress Dowager Wu saw as opposition against her (i.e., Pei's advocacy that she return imperial powers to Emperor Ruizong). Zhou, knowing this, falsely accused Wei of having said, "The empress dowager is old. It is better to support the emperor, for he will last longer." This angered Empress Dowager Wu, and she ordered that Wei commit suicide, and she sent the assistant imperial censor Fang Ji (房濟) to monitor his suicide. When Fang got to Wei's mansion, he said to Wei, "Honored old man, why do you not pretend to be making a secret accusation? That way, the empress dowager will summon you to her presence, and when she does, you can explain that the accusation against you is false." Wei sighed and responded, "What is the difference between being killed by men and being killed by ghosts [(i.e., natural death)]? How can I be an accuser?" He later committed suicide.