An Qingxu
By early 757, when Yan forces had captured Chang'an and forced both Emperor Xuanzong and his crown prince Li Heng to flee, it was said that An Lushan was having eye problems and had become blind, and was also suffering from ulcers on his body. As a result, his temper became terrible, and his servants, if they had caused him any ill will, would often be whipped or caned, and sometimes even executed. Once he declared imperial title, he spent most of his time inside the Luoyang palace, and his generals rarely saw him, with most important matters going through his official Yan Zhuang (嚴莊), -- but even Yan and a favorite eunuch of An's, Li Zhu'er (李豬兒), were being frequently battered. Meanwhile, An Lushan favored another son An Qing'en (安慶恩), the son of his second wife Lady Duan (who might have carried the title of empress by this point). An considered letting An Qing'en be his crown prince, instead of An Qingxu, who was otherwise in line to receive that honor (as Qingxu was now Lushan's eldest surviving son; Lushan's eldest son Qingzong had already been executed in 756). An Qingxu often feared that An Lushan would put him to death. He, Yan, and Li Zhu'er therefore plotted. On the night of 29 January 757, with Yan and An Qingxu watching outside, Li Zhu'er took a sword into the palace and attacked An Lushan; An Lushan tried to fight back, but could not locate a sword that he usually put under his bed, and Li Zhu'er killed him. The next morning, Yan first announced to the Yan officials that An Lushan was seriously ill and was creating An Qingxu crown prince, and then An Qingxu took the throne, before announcing An Lushan's death.