 In anger, he rebelled at the capital of Ji Province, Xindu (信都, in modern Hengshui, Hebei), alleging falsely that Emperor Xuanwu's uncle Gao Zhao had murdered the emperor and declaring himself emperor.Yuan Yu's rebellion was soon defeated by the general Li Ping (), and during his being delivered to the capital Luoyang, Gao had him killed.At that time, Yang Aofei was pregnant, and she was permitted to give birth and then was executed.