There was a real case: the father and son failed to overthrow the "Tiean case" because of repeated petitions, but found another way to attract the attention of party and government leaders by publicly posting and writing reactionary slogans. At about 1 in the early morning of April 28th, 2002, Yan Tousheng and his son posted more than 10 inflammatory slogans at the entrance of Dongshanba Village, the entrance of Chaling County Committee, the bazaar and Layuan Street. After being reported by the masses, Yan Tousheng and his son were arrested and brought to justice by the police at noon that day 12.

In 2002, Yan Tousheng and Yan Xi, from Chaling, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, were sentenced to three and four years' imprisonment and deprived of political rights for one year respectively by Zhuzhou Intermediate People's Court.