He was later removed and forced to commit suicide due to the machinations of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite and influential concubine Consort Wu and her powerful and corrupt ally, the chancellor Li Linfu.
In 728, Emperor Xuanzong decreed a search among officials' daughters who could be the wife to Li Hong, and eventually selected the daughter of Xue Tao (薛縚) the deputy minister of ceremonies, to be Li Hong's wife and crown princess.
Princess Xianyi's husband Yang Hui (楊洄) reported this to Consort Wu, and she tearfully accused Li Ying of defaming her and Emperor Xuanzong.
Emperor Xuanzong, in anger, discussed the possibility of deposing Li Ying with the chancellors.
The senior chancellor Zhang Jiuling firmly opposed this, and when Consort Wu sent her servant Niu Gui'er (牛貴兒) to try to lobby him, he refused and reported this to Emperor Xuanzong.
Because of Zhang's firm opposition to Li Ying's removal—citing examples of Duke Xian of Jin, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Hui of Jin, and Emperor Wen of Sui, each of whose states was destroyed or greatly weakened as the result of a change in the crown prince position—it was said that Li Ying's position was firm for as long as Zhang remained chancellor, but after Zhang was removed later in 736, things began to change.
When Emperor Xuanzong discussed this with the chancellors, Li Linfu, by now the most powerful official at court, stated, "This is Your Imperial Majesty's family matter.
A number of the clan members of his mother Consort Zhao and his wife Crown Princess Xue were exiled.