Ren Huan
Early in the subsequent administration of Li Cunxu's adoptive brother and successor Li Siyuan, Cui served successively as the minister of rites (禮部尚書, "Libu Shangshu") and then as the minister of worship (太常卿, "Taichang Qing"). In 927, after Li Siyuan had removed two chancellors left over from Li Cunxu's administration, Doulu Ge and Wei Shuo, he was considering who else to commission as chancellors to replace Doulu and Wei. One of his chiefs of staff, Kong Xun, did not like having chancellors from north of the Yellow River — i.e., from the territory of Later Tang's predecessor state Jin — and thus recommended Cui. The chancellor Ren Huan recommended Li Qi, but fellow chancellor Zheng Jue disliked Li Qi, and therefore persuaded Kong's chief of staff colleague An Chonghui — who was then the most powerful official at Li Siyuan's court and with whom Kong was closely aligned — that Li Qi was corrupt and unsuitable. An therefore recommended Cui as well when they discussed the matter before the emperor. Upon hearing An's recommendation, Ren responded: