 Soon after the establishment of Southern Qi, Emperor Gao recalled Xiao Ni back to Jiankang to serve as the governor of the capital region, Yang Province (揚州, modern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu), a highly important post, and a post that he would retain for the rest of his life.Xiao Ni was very close to his older brother Xiao Ze, who was created the crown prince after Emperor Gao took the throne.In one incident when Emperor Gao got exceedingly angry at Xiao Ze after being informed (while Xiao Ze was outside the capital) that both Crown Prince Ze and his jester Zhang Jingzhen (張景真) were being overly wasteful and using items that were only appropriate for emperors, it was Xiao Ni who rode on a horse to warn Xiao Ze what the situation was, allowing Xiao Ze to quickly return to Jiankang to react to the incident.