 Xiao Ni had his guards perform a sword dance in the courtyard, and as Emperor Houfei saw it, he assumed that Xiao Ni would be ready for any attacks, and so left.Meanwhile, Xiao Ni's father Xiao Daocheng was fearful for his own life and, as suggested by his distant cousin and associate Xiao Shunzhi (蕭順之), considered going to Guangling (廣陵, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) to start a rebellion there; Xiao Ni, however, opposed, reasoning that rebellions from afar rarely succeeded, and that because of Emperor Houfei's arbitrary behavior, it would be easier to act against him from within the capital.Xiao Daocheng agreed, and soon was able to conspire with Emperor Houfei's attendant Yang Yufu (楊玉夫) to assassinate Emperor Houfei and effectively take over the Liu Song, making Emperor Houfei's brother Liu Zhun emperor (as Emperor Shun), but in actuality his puppet.