Xu Zhigao wanted to further punish Zhong, but Xu Wen, pointing out that without Zhong, he would have died at Zhang Hao's hands, refused. Rather, he had Xu Zhigao's son Xu Jingtong marry Zhong's daughter to try to resolve the hard feelings. Meanwhile, Zhai Qian, as Xu Wen's close associate and Yang Pu's palace guards, had been keeping a close watch on the king. When Xu went to pay homage to Yang Pu in 924, Yang Pu politely, but firmly, objected to Zhai's doing so, stating that while he knew that Xu was loyal to Wu, Zhai was acting in excess of his authority. Xu apologized to the king and initially offered to put Zhai to death. Yang Pu instead suggested exile, so Zhai was exiled to Fu Prefecture. In 926, Qian Liu was ill and went to his home town Yijin Base (衣錦軍, in modern Hangzhou) to recuperate, leaving his son Qian Chuanguan in charge of the affairs of state. Xu Wen sent an emissary to wish him well, and initially, Qian Liu's attendants advised him not to meet with the Wu emissary. Qian Liu, believing that Xu was intending to launch an attack if he were seriously ill, decided to meet with the emissary to show that he was "not" seriously ill. After the meeting, Xu decided not to attack Wuyue. After the death of Later Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong and the succession of Emperor Mingzong, Gao Jixing, the ruler of Later Tang's vassal state Jingnan, turned more independent. In 927, he seized horses that Emperor Mingzong was awarding to Ma Yin and offered to submit to Wu as a subject. Xu, deciding that having Jingnan as a vassal was impractical due to the long distance between Jingnan and Wu proper (whereas Jingnan was close to Later Tang's capital Luoyang), declined to accept Gao as a vassal. Throughout the years, many of Xu's advisors, including Yan, Chen Yanqian (), and Xu Jie, had long advocated having Xu Wen replace Xu Zhigao as junior regent with one of his biological sons, and the oldest surviving among them, Xu Zhixun (younger), also had long requested to replace Xu Zhigao. Xu Wen did not have the heart to do so due to Xu Zhigao's diligence and filial piety.