Prologue and chapter 17 guide for path to empress 2

To find out The Road to Empress 2you're thrown into the prologue chapter with a brief recap of the previous game's outcome that feeds into the new story to ensure you're up to speed, whether it's been a while since you last played or you're joining in on the fun for the first time.

Your very first task is to find a way out of Ganye Temple so you can finally get back to the palace, but how you do that is a choice the game leaves up to you. Can you escape fate in Road to Empress 2?

Prolog

After a brief cutscene showing what happened during the first game to lead you to this moment, you'll watch a scene of your character, Wu, talking to his guardian, Xi Xin, about their next move.

This introduces you to make or break decisions mechanic, which appears when you make one decisions that have ramifying consequences. This can lead you to the next scene or to one of dozens of endings just as easily, so you have to make wise decisions and be ready to try again almost every time you make a decision in this game – you'll find a pulp of game overs, but you're supposed to use the action to rewind as needed to change your choices afterwards.

The two choices you get in this scene are to either fleeward this place for somewhere else, or choose to try rreturn to the palace and claw your way to the top. Regardless of which path you have chosen, Xi Xin will confirm that she understands and the scene will end. What you see next, however, depends on how you choose to approach your destiny.

Choosing to Escape: Ganye Temple, No Escape

When Xi Xin decides to try to escape from the Ganye Temple, Xi Xin will confirm your wishes, and you will find yourself in a scene where Wu Meinang is scrubbing floors when she is approached by Xiu Li, a former acquaintance and newly appointed Shanggong. She taunts you and says she will brand your forehead with her peony hairpinwhich leads to some choices.

You have to choose between trying to take the hairpin from her before she can act, ask her to spare your face and choose another part of your body to brand instead, or accept the brand to try and make things easier for Li Zhi through your submission. To spare your life in this decision you must choose takes the hairpin and tries to fight backwhich will lead to two separate rapid-fire sequences resulting in Liu Xi's death if you succeed in both.

After the fight, Liu Xi is dead, and you have to choose how Wu Meiniang feels about this. These don't seem to affect much, but then you have to decide what to do with the bodyagain presented with a few options, but each leads to the same path forward. You are contacted by The Prince of Wei offers to take you from the temple, and you must choose whether to accept the offer or kill him.

This is not the real prince, so it is best to choose it kill him to expose him as an impostor so you can get back to dealing with Liu Xi's body, decide between hiding the body, trying to frame it as a murder, or runs away from the stage dressed as the late Shanggong.

Choose to dress up as Liu Xi. Now you have to select an item to leave behind to make it look like Wu has fallen into the well and died, given the choice between a red amulet, the sun and moon hairpin, or the silver sculpture of the soaring red dragon. Your best bet here is to leave the amuletbecause it is worth the least amount of money of the three.

Xia, an official with the temple, approaches to see what's going on, and you must decide whether to try to escape or stay and pretending to be Liu Xi. Watch as Xia finds the item you left behind and looks into the well to try to see Wu's body at the bottom. You'll be presented with a few more options here, decide between trying to push her down the well, telling her you'd like to escape like Wu and Xia, or make her keep your secret. Your best bet here is the latter.

Mirage Pavilion

You end up at the Mirage Pavilion after escaping and watch an auction sequence from the back of the room. Xiao Nian walks up and asks if there is anything she can do to help, and you have to do it pawn an item for cash to start your new life and ask for a new identity in return. You can choose between the hairpin that you killed Liu Xi with, or one of the two items that remain after you leave one of them behind the well.

Follow her anywhere else in the pavilion, and you'll see a handful of girls being scolded by an employee. One will be marched out past you, and you can either buy the girls sold in the pavilion or choose to stay away from things. Anyway, Xiao Nian comes back with the things you need to enter a new life, but the mark on your hand makes you faint.

You talk to Xiu Li and you get the chance to either follow her or reject Xiu Li's offer. Snap back to the waking world and the chapter ends with you meeting the owner of the Mirage Pavilion.

Return To The Palace: A New Era

Should you choose to have Wu Meiniang tell Xi Xin that she would like to try and go back to the palace during the prologue conversation you will see a scene where she writes a letter on an umbrella to be given to Li Zhi. After this, a second scene plays where Liu Xi, a newly appointed Shanggong with whom you share a story, approaches you as you scrub the floors to taunt you.

She burns your umbrella and places you in meditative solitude as long as Li Zhi and his cavalry are in the temple trying to forbid you from seeing him after admitting to burning the letters you've been trying to send him.

In the next scene, you will see Wu Meiniang in meditation when Li Zhi's chariots are approaching outside the building, but the door is guarded by other nuns who are told to keep you inside.

You will be given three choices on how to try to get to Li Zhi. You can try to enter through the door and the nuns guarding it, shoot the hairpin to give to Li Zhi so he knows you're there, or choose to shout Li Zhi's name from inside the meditation room. The nuns will rush in and try to silence your scream, but if you succeed with a quick event to push his hands away, Li Zhi will hear you and enter the room.

You can choose how to greet himand your reaction here will affect how much affection you get with Li Zhi from this scene. You also have to choose if you want hug him in greeting or neglect to respond to his embrace. After this he says he will name you as the head of the concubines, and you must choose how to respond. You should refuseswear to return your own way.

The return plan

When she enters a new scene with Xi Xin, she fills you in on the palace goings-on, tells you how Empress Wang hires but doesn't trust Consort Xiao at all, and lets you decide who you want to appeal to in an attempt to try and get back to the palace on your own. Your best bet is to appeal to Empress Wang in this situation gives you a point in your strategy stat when you do so.

The Empress will call you to meet her, and you must decide how to behave in this situation. She likes to have people around who are more docile in nature, so when you get the opportunity to react to her, you should choose to act shy and submissive.

Even if you act submissive, she will ask about your past with the emperor. However, she already knows what's going on, so it's best to do it be honest with her to earn her respect. After all, no one likes to be lied to, and how can she trust you if you're willing to lie to her so early on.

Finally, you will receive an invitation to the palace through Empress Wang if you have chosen correctly so far. When she makes her offer, choose “I am willing” when prompted to reclaim your original name and return to the palace to complete the first chapter of Road to Empress 2. You must decide if you are trying to drive power, Li Zhi's heart, or a combination of both, each giving a stat boost and leading to a branching path later with Li Zhi.