In the aftermaths of Liu Xiufan's defeat, the high-level officials wanted to recall Shen to the capital, but did not dare to do so without his agreement in fear of causing him to rebel, and so sent messenger in the name of Emperor Ming's wife Empress Dowager Wang to try to persuade Shen to accept a promotion and a recall. Shen declined, and the high-level officials permitted him to remain at Jing Province. However, concerned about Shen, Xiao, who had been friendly with Shen up to this point – so much so that Shen Youzhi's son Shen Wenhe (沈文和) married Xiao's daughter – sent the general who had assassinated Liu Xiufan, Zhang Jing'er (張敬兒), to be the governor of Yong Province in 475, to prepare for an eventual betrayal of Shen. Shen tried to foster a relationship with Zhang, and believed incorrectly that he had won Zhang over to his side, but Zhang remained secretly still loyal to Xiao. In 476, when Emperor Houfei's cousin Liu Jingsu (劉景素) the Prince of Jianping and governor of South Xu Province (南徐州, modern western central Jiangsu) rebelled, it was rumored that Shen was aligned with Liu Jingsu, and he tried to show his loyalty by sending an army to aid Xiao and other imperial generals against Liu Jingsu, although by the time his forces arrived at Jiankang, Liu Jingsu had already been defeated.
