 Papers were to be first sent to the empress dowagers, who would refer them back to the Prince-Regent, Prince Gong, who oversaw the Grand Council.The Grand Council would then discuss the issue and seek the discretion of the empress dowagers and draft up orders accordingly, with edict drafts having to be approved by the empress dowagers.Such a configuration would lead Zeng Guofan to remark after an audience in 1869 that "the state of affairs hinged entirely on the Grand Councillors...whose power surpassed that of the imperial master."