In 67 BC, Emperor Xuan created Prince Shi—the late Empress Xu's son—crown prince, and created Empress Xu's father Xu Guanghan (許廣漢) the Marquess of Ping'en—an action that Huo Guang had opposed. Lady Xian was shocked and displeased, because if her daughter were to have a son later, that son could only be a prince and not the future emperor. She instructed Empress Huo to murder the crown prince. Allegedly, Empress Huo did make multiple attempts to do so, but failed each time. Around this time, the emperor also heard rumors that the Huos had murdered Empress Xu, which led him to begin stripping the Huos of actual power, while giving them impressive titles.