The Ultimate Li Zhi Route Walkthrough for Road to Empress 2: Claim the Throne

Struggling to survive the brutal palace intrigue of Road to Empress 2? This complete Li Zhi route walkthrough guarantees you will navigate every deadly choice, outsmart rival factions, and secure the true Empress ending. From Chapter 17's tense Ganye Temple reunion to the final crowning, follow this step-by-step guide to master Li Zhi's path without falling victim to a single death trap.

New One Studio’s live-action FMV masterpiece pulls no punches. While the first game introduced Wu Yuanzhao’s struggle, the sequel escalates the political bloodshed exponentially. One wrong dialogue option will leave you poisoned, exiled, or executed. Beating the game requires more than just guessing; it demands a calculated strategy to maximize affinity points and isolate your enemies.

01

Why You Need a Dedicated Li Zhi Route Walkthroughtag

The branching narrative in Road to Empress 2 is notoriously unforgiving. Unlike standard visual novels that telegraph their bad endings, this game buries its fatal consequences chapters deep. You might make a seemingly innocuous comment to Liu Xi in Chapter 24, only to find yourself executed in Chapter 28 because you lacked the necessary political leverage.

Furthermore, the community is deeply divided between the two primary love interests: Li Zhi (the Emperor) and Li Tai (Prince Wei). While Yao Chi’s portrayal of Li Tai offers a heartbreaking, emotionally charged alternate path, Guan Hong’s Li Zhi is the canonical historical route. The Li Zhi path is the only way to achieve the ultimate goal: the throne. This route demands ruthlessness. You cannot play the pacifist. You must manipulate the court, undermine Empress Wang, and selectively utilize your allies before discarding them. A dedicated walkthrough is mandatory because the game actively tries to bait you into "good moral choices" that historically result in a swift death.

02

Preparing for the Li Zhi Route Walkthrough: Key Mechanicstag

Before diving into the chapter-by-chapter breakdown, you must understand the underlying math governing Wu Yuanzhao's survival. The game tracks hidden affinity values and political power metrics that dictate which dialogue branches open up.

The Affinity Point System Every interaction with Li Zhi offers a gradient of success. It is never just "good" or "bad." For example, when prompted with "Li Zhi's Approach 1," you are given two positive-sounding options. Selecting "I do" grants a meager +5 affinity. Selecting "What do you think?" grants +9 affinity. These minor numerical differences compound. If you enter Chapter 30 without hitting specific affinity thresholds, the game will forcefully lock you out of the Empress path, diverting you to a lesser ending or a sudden death.

Hint Mode and Achievements Do not let pride ruin your playthrough. Enable "Hint Mode" immediately. The game’s UI provides subtle indicators of which choices carry lethal weight. Furthermore, utilizing this system is tied directly to the game's completionist goals. You cannot unlock the "Archivist Extraordinaire" achievement without having Hint Mode enabled on at least 3 storylines.

Save Scumming is Mandatory Road to Empress 2 features over 40 distinct death scenes. Create hard saves at the beginning of every chapter. Relying on autosaves will trap you in doomed timeline branches, especially during the dense political maneuvering of Chapters 23 through 30.

03

Phase 1 of the Li Zhi Route Walkthrough: Chapters 17–22tag

Surviving the early game requires navigating the Ganye Temple sequence starting in Chapter 17. The most notorious early pitfall is the Poison Soup Trap, a sudden death state that has ended countless blind playthroughs. When facing Li Zhi's Approach 1, selecting "What do you think?" yields a crucial Li Zhi +9 Affinity boost, whereas the alternative "I do" only grants +5. By Chapter 22, your Li Zhi Affinity must be high enough to trigger the palace return.

Follow these exact inputs to clear the opening act:

Mastering these early choices ensures you re-enter the palace with maximum leverage. Do not waste time entertaining minor characters; your sole focus must be consolidating Li Zhi's favor.

04

Phase 2 of the Li Zhi Route Walkthrough: Chapters 23–30tag

As Wu Yuanzhao re-enters the imperial court, Phase 2 of our Li Zhi route walkthrough covers Chapters 23 through 30. Here, your primary adversaries are Empress Wang and the cunning Liu Xi. Chapter 24 unlocks a pivotal Side Story that you must complete to understand the court's shifting dynamics. By Chapter 30, you face a massive branching point: you must definitively reject Prince Wei to lock in the Li Zhi +99 milestone.

The Reddit and YouTube communities have widely noted the emotional devastation of Chapter 30. Rejecting Yao Chi’s portrayal of Prince Wei (Li Tai) is a heartbreaking necessity for the historical path. As players on r/CDrama have lamented, Li Tai's isolation and tragic fate are a heavy price to pay, but it is the only way to secure the throne.

Surviving this phase requires emotional detachment. The game will attempt to make you feel guilty for betraying former allies. Ignore the guilt. The Empress path is paved with the ruin of lesser royals.

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Final Phase: Chapters 31–38 of the Li Zhi Route Walkthroughtag

Chapters 31 through 38 represent the final, bloody ascent to the throne. To secure the True Empress Ending, you must maintain flawless political balance. In Chapter 38, ensuring you have utilized the game's built-in assistance system correctly will unlock the Archivist Extraordinaire achievement. This requires having Hint Mode enabled on 3 storylines. Finally, the Scholar Supreme achievement serves as a badge of honor for executing the flawless Li Zhi Final Choice.

The endgame shifts from survival to total domination. You are no longer reacting to threats; you are neutralizing them before they manifest.

Executing these final moves perfectly will trigger the canonical cinematic ending, cementing Wu Yuanzhao's legacy and fully completing the Li Zhi route.

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Essential Li Zhi Route Walkthrough FAQtag

Many players ask about the game's complex backend mechanics, specifically how to avoid unexpected Death Traps and manage the Save/Load system. Enabling Hint Mode early is highly recommended for identifying Death Traps before you click them. If you accidentally trigger the Li Tai alternate route, you will need to roll back your Save/Load system prior to Chapter 30.

Does this Li Zhi route walkthrough cover the Li Tai alternate ending? No. This guide is strictly optimized for Li Zhi's historical Empress path. Li Tai's path requires actively diverging at Chapter 30, which locks you out of the True Empress Ending.

How do I avoid the soup death trap in Chapter 17? The Poison Soup Trap is an immediate skill check upon entering Ganye Temple. You must refuse the bowl immediately. Any hesitation or attempt to investigate the soup's origins will result in an instant game over.

Can I max out both Li Zhi and Li Tai's affinity? No. The game's political economy forces you to choose. Attempting to balance both affinities will leave you short of the required "Li Zhi +99" threshold at Chapter 30, resulting in a bad ending.

Why didn't the 'Scholar Supreme' achievement unlock? The Scholar Supreme achievement will only unlock upon 100% completion of the dialogue tree. If you missed minor dialogue branches in the Chapter 24 Side Story, you will need to replay that segment.

The throne is not won through passive observation. Road to Empress 2 demands a player willing to make the hard, often cruel choices that defined Wu Zetian's historical rise. By following this guide, you bypass the trial-and-error frustration and experience the narrative at its most cinematic. Claim the crown, silence the court, and let history remember your reign.