In OTL, Emperor Guangxu began his Hundred Days' Reform following the death of Prince Gong, who was in favor of military but never political or economic reforms. What if for whatever reason, say a heart attack, Cixi died on the same day when Prince Gong died? What would be the impact of Guangxu's path towards reform? The coup would not have taken place, but where would China go if Cixi dies at such a right time?
(I won't give out my views for now, since I would like to see discussion. If this thread dies down like any other Chinese-related threads started by me, as not many on AH.com cares about Chinese history, then let it die.)