Prologue and Chapter 17 Guide to the Empress 2

To get your bearings Road to the Empress 2you'll be thrown into a prologue chapter with a brief recap video of the results of the previous game, transitioning into a new story to make sure you're up to speed, whether it was the last time you played or you're joining 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?

Prologue

After a short recap cutscene showing what happened during the first game to bring you up to this point, you'll be treated to a scene of your character Wu talking to his guardian Xi Xin about their next move.

This will introduce you to a make or break decision mechanic that appears whenever you do a a decision that has ramifications. This could just as easily lead you to the next scene or one of dozens of endings, so you'll need to make wise decisions and be prepared to try again almost every time you make a decision in this game – you'll find much game overs, but you have to do it use the plot to rewind as necessary to change your choices retroactively.

The two choices you have in this scene are either Flee this place somewhere else or decide to try it yearreturn to the palace and climb to the top. Regardless of which path you chose, Xi Xin confirms that she understands and the scene ends. What you see next, however, depends on how you choose to approach your destiny.

Choice to Escape: Ganye Temple, No Escape

When Xi Xin decides to try to escape from the Ganye Temple, she grants your wish and you are cut to a scene where Wu Meinang is scrubbing the floors when she is approached by Xiu Li, former acquaintance and newly appointed Shanggong. He taunts you and tells you he will mark your forehead with her peony pinwhich leads to several possibilities.

You'll have to decide between trying to take her hairpin before she can act, asking her to spare your face and choose another part of your body for the tag, or accepting the tag and trying to make things easier for Li Zhi with her submission. If you want to save your life with this decision, you will need to log in take the hairpin and try to defend yourselfwhich will lead to two separate quick event sequences resulting in the death of Liu Xi if you succeed in both.

After the fight, Liu Xi is dead and you will have to choose how Wu Meiniang feels about it. It doesn't seem to make much of an impact, but then you'll have to decide what to do with the bodyagain, it offers several options, but each leads to the same path forward. You are addressed The Prince of Wei offers to take you out of the temple, and you will have to choose whether to accept the offer or kill him.

This is not a real prince, so the best solution is to choose kill him expose him as an impostor so you can go back to dealing with Liu Xi's body, deciding between hiding the body, trying to frame it as an assassination, or run away from the scene dressed as the late Shanggong.

Choose a dress like Liu Xi. Now you will have to select the item to leave to make it appear that Wu fell into a well and died when he could choose between a red amulet, a hairpin of the sun and moon, or a floating silver statue of a red dragon. The best is here leave the amuletbecause it costs the least amount of money of the three.

Xia, an official from the temple, approaches to see what's going on and you have to decide whether to try to escape or stay pretending to be Liu Xi. Watch as Xia finds the item you left behind, peeks into the well to try to see Wu's body at the bottom. Here you will be presented with a few more options, choose between trying to push her into the well, or telling her you would like to escape like Wu and Xia, or make her keep your secret. Here, your best bet is the latter.

Mirage Pavilion

After escaping, you end up in the Mirage Pavilion and watch the auction sequence from the back of the room. Xiao Nian walks up and asks if she can help with anything, and you have to pawning an item for cash start your new life and claim a new identity in exchange. You will be given a choice between the hairpin you killed Liu Xi or one of the two items left after you left one of them at the well.

Follow her elsewhere in the pavilion to see a handful of girls berated by a staff member. One will be marched past you and you can either buy girls they sell in the pavilion or choose to stay away. Either way, Xiao Nian will return with the things you need to enter a new life, but the mark on your hand will make you faint.

You will talk to Xiu Li and have the option to either follow her or refuse Xiu Li's offer. Return to the waking world and the chapter ends with meeting the owner of the Mirage Pavilion.

Return to the Palace: A New Era

If you decide that Wu Meiniang will tell Xi Xin that she would like to try and return to the palace during the prologue conversation, you will see a scene where he writes a letter on an umbrella to be given to Li Zhi. A second scene will then take place where Liu Xi, the newly named Shanggong you share history with, approaches you as you scrub the floors to taunt you.

She burned your umbrella and it will introduce you to meditative solitude all the while Li Zhi and his cavalry are in the temple trying to ban you from meeting him after confessing to burning the letters you're trying to send him.

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

You will have three options to try to get to Li Zhi. You can try to break through the door and the nuns guarding it, slip out the hairpin and let Li Zhi know you're there, or decide shouts Li Zhi's name from inside the meditation room. The nuns will run in and try to silence your screams but if you succeed in quick action to push their hands away, Li Zhi hears you and enters 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 will also have to choose if you want to hug him when greeting or neglecting to respond to his embrace. He will then tell you that he will name you the head of the concubines and you will have to choose how you respond. You should refuseswearing to return your own way.

Return plan

He enters a new scene with Xi Xin and brings you up to speed on the palace, telling you about how Empress Wang employs but doesn't trust wife Xiao at all, and leaves you to decide who you want to approach in an attempt to get back into the palace on your own. The best solution is to appeal to Empress Wang in this situation it will give you a point in the strategy stats.

The Empress will invite you to meet her and you will have to decide how to behave in this situation. She likes to be around people who are more docile in nature, so when you have the opportunity to respond to her, you should choose appear timid and submissive.

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

Finally, you will receive an invitation to the palace through Empress Wang if you have made the right decision so far. When he makes his offer, take your pick “I'm willing” when prompted to reclaim your original name and return to the palace to end the first chapter of Road to Empress 2. You'll have to decide whether you're trying to chase the Force, Li Zhi's heart, or a combination of the two, each of which will add stats and lead to a branching path later with Li Zhi.