In 666, Emperor Gaozong offered sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Tai and, to celebrate the occasion, declared a general pardon—but specifically exempted from the general pardon anyone who was given a long-term exile. Li Yifu, in anger and fear, died of an illness. His wife and children were not allowed to return to the eastern capital Luoyang until 674. In 692, after Empress Wu had seized the throne from her son Emperor Ruizong and took the title of emperor for her own, she, in recognition of how Li Yifu and five other officials had supported her, posthumously awarded Li Yifu the title of commandant of Yang Prefecture, but the posthumous honor was again stripped in 710 after Emperor Ruizong returned to the throne.