 Initially, Xiao Ni did not have any sons, and probably sometime during Emperor Gao's reign, he adopted Emperor Wu's son Xiao Zixiang (蕭子響) as his heir apparent -- a status that Xiao Zixiang, by Xiao Ni's request, continued to hold even after Xiao Ni had his own sons.However, in 488, after an incident where Xiao Zixiang threw a temper tantrum over not being able to wear the same style as his brothers (because his brothers were princes, while he was just the heir apparent of a prince), the adoption was rescinded, and Xiao Zixiang was returned to Emperor Wu's line and created the Prince of Badong.