A year later, after Empress Liu also died, Prince Zhao Yuanyan told the emperor the truth, and also suggested that Consort Li had been murdered.

Shocked with grief, Emperor Renzong visited the coffin with tears, ordered the construction of Jingling Palace for her memorial and gave her the posthumous title Empress Zhangyi.

However, as Empress Liu had treated Consort Li's corpse with great respect, Emperor Renzong refused to believe that she would murder his biological mother.

This story, which probably borrowed elements from the play The Orphan of Zhao that is more historically plausible, became incredibly popular and saw many different versions in later periods, including the Qing Dynasty novel The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, where it is referred to as The Wild Cat for Crown Prince.

Consort Liu plotted with eunuch Guo Huai to secretly swap the infant with a skinned Chinese wild cat.