Emperor Fei appeared to have even less actual power than his father, to whom Yuwen Tai paid formal deference. He was able to rebury his mother Empress Yifu with his father Emperor Wen. He created his wife, Crown Princess Yuwen, empress. Apparently because Yuwen wanted to restore many Zhou Dynasty customs and traditions, Emperor Fei did not use an era name; rather, the years of his reign were merely referred to as "the first year," "the second year," and so on.