[1] He was also known as the Duke of Ying and King of Wei serving as army commander of Yingyang Prefecture during the final years of Emperor Yang of Sui (r. 605–618 CE) and subsequently as Minister of Revenue and superintendent of Jingzhou City, Hubei during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 627–649 CE).
Later he remarried a woman from the noble Yang family of the Hong Nong region.
She was daughter, niece, and sister to several ministers and a close relation of the imperial family.
At the same time she named Helan Minzhi, the son of her sister Wu Shun, as heir to her father.
However, Wu Zetian became displeased with Helan Minzhi's conduct and sent him into exile where he died.