The carriage arrived at the palace gate, but as it was too ordinary and a token wasn't presented beforehand, the guards at the first palace gate immediately stopped them.
"How dare you block the Empress Dowager's carriage!" Hui Xiang immediately scolded angrily.
Only then did the guards recognize the person dressed as a maid in front of them as Hui Xiang, the palace maid by the Empress Dowager's side, and they were all terrified and immediately knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing, "Empress Dowager, spare our lives! Empress Dowager, spare our lives!"
"Open the gate," the Empress Dowager commanded from inside the carriage, sitting upright with her eyes closed.
"Yes, yes, yes." The guards hurried to clear the way and opened the palace gate.
The Empress Dowager was not in the palace but suddenly returned from outside the palace, causing someone to immediately report her arrival to the Emperor.
