 One of Li Jingye's key coconspirators was Pei's nephew Xue Zhongzhang (薛仲璋), which drew Empress Dowager Wu's suspicion.Meanwhile, Pei, in order to try to show that the rebellion was nothing to worry about, was intentionally slow in dispatching troops to suppress the rebellion.He further told Empress Dowager Wu that if she returned authorities to Emperor Ruizong, the rebellion would, for the lack of a good point of propaganda, collapse on its own.