Meanwhile, though, Yang was also said to be vindictive. Blaming the senior official Liu Yan, one of the judges that adjudicated Yuan Zai's guilt, for Yuan's death and for his own demotion, he accused Liu of having encouraged Emperor Daizong to make his favorite concubine Consort Dugu empress—which would have endangered Emperor Dezong's position as crown prince since he was not Consort Dugu's son, and Consort Dugu had her own son, Li Jiong () the Prince of Han. At Cui Youfu's urging, who argued that such matters should no longer be considered since Emperor Dezong had issued a general pardon when he declared the "Liangshuifa", Emperor Dezong did not, for the time being, investigate Liu. Still, at Yang's urging, he removed Liu from his various posts as directors of specialized financial agencies and returned the responsibilities to the executive bureau (尚書省, "Shangshu Sheng"). (Subsequently, however, with the executive bureau agencies unable to handle these financial matters, the specialized agencies were restored, although the responsibilities were given to Han Hui () and Du You, not back to Liu.) Liu was also soon demoted and exiled to be the prefect of Zhong Prefecture (忠州, in modern Chongqing).