Road to Empress 2 – Complete Endings & Achievements Guide

Hey guys, I just finished Road to Empress 2 and tracked every choice, route split, QTE outcome, Bad End, Mid End, Good End, voice message, and achievement along the way.

This guide follows the story in order, so you can use it as a checklist while playing. Let’s get into it.

Claim These Free Rewards Before You Start

Before you begin the story, spend a minute in the main menu. You can grab several rewards and achievements without playing a single chapter.

Open the Mail menu from the main screen. The game immediately gives you 5,000 Coins.

Easy Menu Achievements

You can unlock these achievements in less than a minute.

Voice Message Achievements

Road to Empress 2 rewards players who explore different outcomes instead of always chasing the best ending.

Most voice messages come from Bad Ends, so don’t reload every time something goes wrong. Many hidden conversations only appear after failed routes.

Lingering Echoes

Unlock 30 Voice Messages.

During my playthrough, this achievement appeared around Chapter 18 – Ganye Temple: No Escape 2.

Lingering Voices

Unlock 100 Voice Messages.

Mine unlocked after Chapter 17 – A New Era, but only after I had already finished the Side Story.

If you’re collecting every Bad End, both achievements should unlock naturally before you finish everything.

Chapter-End Features You Shouldn’t Skip

Every main chapter ends with a few optional interactions. Several achievements hide behind these screens, so don’t rush to the next chapter.

Spread the Word

Tap the Share button at the end of a chapter.

Press Save, and the achievement unlocks.

Always Right

Open Trait Sketch from the bottom-left corner.

Press Resume a couple of times.

Whispers Behind Your Back

Use How Others See You five times during the Main Story.

Look for any character portrait with three dots above it.

The game counts repeated clicks on the same character, so you don’t need five different characters.

Curious Cat

Watch one hidden video at a chapter ending.

Chapter 17 – A New Era contains three hidden videos, so it’s one of the easiest places to unlock this achievement.

Time Rewind

Reach any Bad End.

Press the Tips button and spend 995 Gold the first time it appears.

Progress Achievements

These achievements unlock automatically as your completion percentage increases.

Prologue Walkthrough

The first major choice decides which route you enter.

Option 1 — Leave This Place for Another Life

This choice starts Liu Xi’s Terms.

You have several different outcomes here.

Choice: Grab the Hairpin

This path leads to a Quick Time Event.

• Pass the QTE to unlock Nimble Moves.
• Fail the QTE to reach Bad End 5.

Choice: Beg Liu Xi Not to Ruin Your Face

This immediately gives you:

• Bad End 1
• All Part of the Experience achievement

Choice: Protect the Prince of Wei

Choose to give up instead.

This leads to Bad End 2.

What Happens After Liu Xi Dies?

No matter how Liu Xi dies, you’ll need to decide what to do with her body.

You can:

• Hide the body
• Run away
• Blame an assassin

The choice changes the dialogue slightly, but every option eventually reaches:

Chapter 17 – Ganye Temple: No Escape 1

Option 2 — Return to the Palace and Claw to the Top

This begins Chance to Meet Li Zhi.

Here are the possible outcomes.

Bust Through

Leads to Bad End 3.

Hand the Hairpin to the Nun

Leads to Bad End 4.

Scream Li Zhi’s Name

This continues the story.

A second QTE starts immediately afterward.

• Pass the QTE to enter Chapter 17 – A New Era.
• Fail it to reach Bad End 7.

For a first playthrough, this is the easiest route if you want to continue the main story instead of collecting early Bad Ends.

Chapter 17 – A New Era Walkthrough

Chapter 17 introduces several choices that affect later routes. Your stat gains here also shape future conversations and route splits.

Pay Respects to His Majesty

Greet Him Calmly

• Li Zhi Affinity +1

Greet Him with Restrained Grievance

• Strategy +1
• Li Zhi Affinity +2

This is the better option if you’re building both Strategy and Li Zhi’s relationship.

Unexpected Summons

This is one of the biggest branching choices in the chapter.

Act Submissively

• Empress (Wang) Affinity +2

Stay Composed

• Empress (Wang) Affinity -2

Your next conversations change depending on this decision. Several Bad Ends later in the chapter also depend on how honestly you respond afterward.

During my runs, staying composed gave me a smoother path toward the next major story section.

The Invitation

Choose:

“I am willing.”

Rewards:

• Fortitude +1

The other two responses both end in Bad Ends and also unlock extra voice messages.

If you’re collecting everything, remember to revisit them later.

What Matters Most?

The final decision in Chapter 17 determines your main story route for the next several chapters.

Power

Rewards:

• Ambition +1

This choice starts the Top Route.

Li Zhi’s Love

Rewards:

• Fortitude +1
• Decisiveness +1

This starts the Bottom Route.

I Want It All

Rewards:

• Ambition +1
• Decisiveness +1
• Strategy +1

This also places you on the Top Route, but it builds a more balanced character for future choices.

Don’t rush this decision. It quietly controls several route splits across Chapters 18 through 20, so changing it later means replaying multiple chapters.

Chapters 18–20: The Unfathomable Rear Palace 2.0 Walkthrough

Your final choice in Chapter 17 decides which path you enter here.

• Power → Top Route
• I Want It All → Top Route
• Li Zhi’s Love → Bottom Route

The story follows different scenes depending on your route, but several important choices and achievements are available on both.

Empress’s Question

During this conversation, choose:

“Aunt, don’t speak of Her Majesty that way.”

Rewards:

• Strategy +1
• Exactly My Type achievement

This is the only choice here that gives both a stat increase and an achievement.

Empress’s Concern

When the Empress asks about your work, choose:

“I enjoy doing chores.”

Rewards:

• Fortitude +1
• Hard Worker achievement

The other responses continue the story but don’t unlock anything special.

What Do You Want?

This choice looks tempting, but it leads straight to another Bad End.

Select:

“Let me gain status by bearing your child.”

Rewards:

• Li Zhi Affinity +99

Result:

• Bad End 18

The huge affinity boost doesn’t save this route. Visit it once for completion, then reload if you’re aiming for better endings.

A Familiar Face

You’ll get the option to slap the character several times.

Choose:

Slap her three times.

This alone isn’t enough for the achievement.

You must repeat this choice across multiple playthroughs until you’ve slapped her 15 times total (five visits × three slaps).

Rewards:

• Slap Specialist achievement

The game tracks your total progress across different runs, so you don’t need to finish the chapter each time.

A Bedtime Story

This scene has three different conversation options.

Choose every option at least once across separate playthroughs.

Rewards:

• Sleep Can Wait achievement

You cannot unlock it in a single run because the game only allows one choice each visit.

Spend Your Stipend

This decision changes the next part of the story.

Give It to the Chamberlains

Rewards:

• Prestige +1

This option keeps you on the safer route.

Buy Gifts

The story follows a much longer chain after this choice.

Eventually, it ends at:

• Bad End 26

Choose this path once if you’re collecting every ending.

Final Confrontation with Liu Xi

Near the end of Chapter 20, you’ll decide Liu Xi’s fate.

You can:

• Spare Liu Xi
• Kill Liu Xi

The story changes slightly, but both choices still award the chapter achievement.

Achievement Unlocked:

The Unfathomable Rear Palace 2.0

You won’t miss this achievement regardless of your decision.

Chapters 21–22: The Unnecessary Mother Walkthrough

This arc focuses more on palace politics than combat. Several choices look harmless but lead directly to Bad Ends.

The Poisoned Earrings

This is one of the toughest decisions in the game because neither option has a happy outcome.

Tell Li Zhi the Truth

Rewards:

• Decisiveness +1

Result:

• Bad End 39

Replace the Earrings Quietly

Rewards:

• Strategy +1

Result:

• Bad End 38

Neither route continues normally, so you’ll eventually need both for 100% completion.

Who Will Inherit the Crown?

Several dialogue options mention pregnancy.

Every pregnancy-related response gives a large increase to Li Zhi Affinity.

However, every version of this choice also ends in a Bad End.

Take each option once if you’re collecting all endings.

Li Zhi Wants You to Stay

Don’t agree with him immediately.

Choose to:

Flirt, then walk away.

Rewards:

• Dragon Tamer achievement

This achievement is easy to overlook because the obvious response feels like staying with Li Zhi.

How Will You Use Li Zhong?

This choice finishes the chapter.

The story continues regardless of what you choose, but your decision changes several rumor-related scenes later in the game.

You won’t see the effects immediately, so don’t expect instant differences.

Chapter Rewards

By the end of Chapters 21 and 22, you should also be close to several completion milestones.

Depending on how many endings you’ve already collected, you may unlock:

• A Long Road Ahead (around 50 endings)
• Getting the Hang of It (50% completion)

Both achievements usually appear naturally during this part of the story if you’ve explored plenty of Bad Ends instead of following only one route.

My Playthrough Tip

Chapters 18 through 22 contain a huge number of hidden branches. I found it much faster to finish one chapter, collect every Bad End from that chapter, and then move forward. Jumping between chapters made it much harder to remember which routes I’d already completed.

Chapters 23–24: First Among the Nine Consorts Walkthrough

The story starts to narrow toward the late-game routes here, but there are still plenty of choices that unlock achievements, Bad Ends, and extra dialogue. I also ran into one puzzle that wasn’t very clear the first time, so here’s the correct solution.

Fill the Verses Puzzle

This mini-game asks you to place three poems in the correct positions.

Use this order:

• Left poem → Left slot
• Middle poem → Right slot
• Right poem → Middle slot

I guessed the wrong order during my first run, so this puzzle is worth checking before you continue.

A Bedtime Story

This event appears again in this chapter.

Choose every conversation option across different playthroughs. After you’ve seen all three, you’ll unlock the Sleep Can Wait achievement.

Recruiting Youzi

This choice depends on your character build.

If you’ve already maxed all five Traits, choosing “Be fiercer than the Empress” leads to Bad End 52.

Choose “Be kinder” if you want to continue the story instead.

Do You Trust Me?

Pick “I’ll help you.”

Rewards:

• Ambition +1
• Li Zhi Affinity +9

This is the best outcome if you’re building Li Zhi’s route.

The chapter finishes with another story achievement.

No matter what you choose during your final conversation with Gaoyang, you’ll unlock First Among the Nine Consorts.

Chapters 25–26: Closer to Power Walkthrough

The palace politics become much more important from this point. Several choices decide whether you continue toward the late-game endings or get pushed into Mid Ends.

Resignation Petition

Read all three officials before making your decision.

Choose “Ji.”

Rewards:

• Ambition +1
• Strategy +1

Right after this scene, the game automatically places you on one of two routes.

During my first playthrough, I couldn’t enter the upper route even though I repeated the same choices. After restarting the game and loading my save again, it finally placed me on the correct path. If you’re stuck here, try restarting the game before replaying earlier chapters.

Promotions

Choose the high-paying honorary position to continue the story.

The lower stipend option immediately sends you to Mid End 53, so you’ll eventually need to visit it once if you’re collecting every ending.

Throw Them Off Balance

This is one of the final major choices before the endgame.

Choose to petition for the Empress’s removal if you have enough Strategy.

This route continues the story.

The other choices lead to:

• Bad End 55
• Mid End 56

If you’re missing one of these endings later, this decision is usually the reason.

The political route becomes much stricter after Chapter 26. Earlier choices from Chapters 17 through 22 also start affecting which ending paths remain available, so it’s a good idea to keep a save before this point if you’re aiming for 100% completion.

Side Story Chapters 17–18: Ganye Temple, No Escape Walkthrough

The Side Story starts very differently from the main route. Your choices focus more on survival, trust, and escaping dangerous situations. Several scenes also decide which branches become available later.

Prince of Wei’s Promise

Choose “Take me with you.”

This choice gives you:

• Bad End 8
• Distant Echoes achievement

Visit this route once if you’re collecting every ending.

What Will You Leave Behind?

This is one of the biggest branching choices in the Side Story.

You can leave behind:

• Amulet
• Sun and Moon Hairpin
• Soaring Red Kite

Each item changes future scenes around the well and also decides which automatic route split you enter later. If you’re aiming for full completion, you’ll eventually need to test all three options.

Witness Yue’s Crisis

Choose to save Yue’s daughter.

Rewards:

• Time to Step In achievement

This decision also changes later events. Some scenes, including Reveal Her Identity, only appear if you save her here.

The Relationship

This scene only changes if your character is carrying Li Tai’s child.

In that case, you’ll receive:

• Bad End 18
• Bad End 19
• That Sounds Familiar achievement

If you’re not on that route, you’ll see a different outcome.

Assassin’s Blade

Choose:

“That won’t work, we don’t even look alike.”

Rewards:

• Not a Good Match achievement

Fight Back

The chapter finishes with another QTE.

Pass the QTE to clear the chapter and unlock Ganye Temple, No Escape.

Failing the QTE immediately sends you to Bad End 26, so don’t rush the timing.

Side Story Chapters 19–21: Dangerous Reunion & Beyond the Chains

This part of the Side Story tracks suspicion behind the scenes. Several choices increase or decrease Mirage Suspicion, which changes later events.

What Intel to Deliver

Choose either of these options:

• Tell them about meeting General Yuan Lichen
• Tell them your group split up

Both choices lower Mirage Suspicion.

Avoid choosing “I killed Xiao Nian myself.”

That option greatly increases Mirage Suspicion and leads directly to Bad End 32.

Scatter Dust and Throw the Wine Jug

These scenes contain back-to-back QTEs.

You must pass both.

Failing either one immediately leads to a Bad End, so stay ready when these scenes begin.

A Proposal of Marriage

Choose:

“Knock some sense into him.”

Rewards:

• Li Tai Affinity +9

This choice also leads to Bad End 42, so remember to revisit another route afterward.

Persuade Xu Minhui

Choose:

“His Majesty is more appealing.”

Rewards:

• Raise Your Standards achievement

The Letter to Xu Xiaode

Tell Xu Xiaode that you’re already married to Danlichi.

This finishes the chapter and unlocks the Beyond the Chains achievement.

Side Story Chapters 22–23: Another Life Walkthrough

The final Side Story chapters bring together many earlier choices. Several endings only become available because of decisions you made much earlier in the story.

To Be, Or Not To Be

This is one of the most important choices in the entire Side Story.

Choose to take the evidence if you want the proper ending.

This leads to END 52.

The other two choices both lead to Bad Ends.

• Confess to Li Tai
• Leave the evidence behind

Around this point, I also unlocked A Long Road Ahead, which matches the 50 endings milestone.

After Rebirth

Choose:

“I’m finally free to chase a new life.”

This gives you the route’s Good Ending and unlocks the Another Life achievement.

It’s the best ending for this storyline.

A Trap in the Capital

This scene automatically changes based on an earlier decision in Chapter 19 – Gaoyang’s Interception.

• A Calculated Retreat leads toward END 53.
• Gaoyang, come with me leads toward END 54.

You can’t change this route here because the game checks your earlier choice.

Wine at a Treacherous Feast, Li Zhi’s Concerns, and Li Zhi’s Proposal

These late-game scenes also contain a hidden route split.

During my testing, I reached END 56 by making these choices:

• “I do.”
• “Your Majesty, I’d like a cup as well.”
• “Remnants of Chancellor Zhangsun.”
• “He lacks the power to rebel.”

This route also unlocked two extra voice messages.

There may be other combinations that work, but this is the one I confirmed myself.

Yue’s Questioning

The final scene checks another decision from much earlier in the Side Story.

Keep Yue’s identity hidden back in Side Chapter 18.

Later, choose to lie to Yue during this conversation.

These two choices unlock the deeper version of the bottom-path ending.

Road to Empress 2 remembers far more choices than most visual novels. Some decisions don’t matter until ten or fifteen chapters later, so keeping multiple save files makes collecting every ending much easier. I also recommend clearing every Bad End before moving to the next chapter. It saves a lot of replay time when you go back for 100% completion.

Road to Empress 2 All Ending & Achievement Tips

Road to Empress 2 hides a surprising amount of content behind Bad Ends, optional choices, and chapter interactions. During my playthrough, I found that trying to avoid every Bad End actually made 100% completion much harder.

Instead, I cleared every branch before moving to the next chapter. That approach unlocked most achievements and voice messages naturally without much extra replay.

Collect Bad Ends Instead of Avoiding Them

Many achievements require you to see multiple endings or unlock voice messages. Bad Ends are an important part of the game’s progression, not just failures.

You’ll also discover extra dialogue and story details that never appear on the successful routes.

Don’t Skip Chapter-End Screens

Every time a chapter ends, check the extra buttons before continuing.

These screens contain hidden interactions for achievements like:

• Spread the Word
• Always Right
• Whispers Behind Your Back
• Curious Cat

It’s easy to miss them if you immediately start the next chapter.

Save Before Every Major Choice

Several decisions permanently split the story into different routes.

Some of the biggest branching points include:

• The Prologue
• Chapter 17: What Matters Most?
• Spend Your Stipend
• What Will You Leave Behind?
• To Be, Or Not To Be

Creating a save before these moments saves a lot of replay time.

Don’t Ignore QTEs

Quite a few Quick Time Events lead straight to Bad Ends when you fail them.

The most important ones appear during:

• Liu Xi’s route
• Chance to Meet Li Zhi
• Fight Back
• Scatter Dust
• Throw the Wine Jug

If you’re only collecting story endings, passing every QTE is the safest option. Return later and intentionally fail them if you’re hunting every Bad End.

Restart the Game if Something Doesn’t Unlock

I ran into two strange issues during my playthrough.

The Seen It All achievement didn’t unlock until I completely closed and reopened the game after collecting every ending type.

I also couldn’t access one of the late-game route splits near Chapter 25 until I restarted the game and loaded my save again.

If an achievement or route doesn’t trigger even though you’ve met the requirements, restarting the game is worth trying before replaying earlier chapters.

Final Thoughts

Road to Empress 2 remembers far more choices than most visual novels. A small decision in the early chapters can completely change which endings become available much later in the story.

I recommend keeping multiple save files instead of relying on chapter replay. It makes collecting every ending, achievement, and voice message much faster, especially once the story starts branching heavily.

If you’re aiming for 100% completion, don’t rush toward the Good Ending first. Explore every Bad End, clear each route one at a time, and collect the hidden achievements as you progress. You’ll spend less time replaying chapters, and you’ll also see a lot of story content that’s easy to miss on a single playthrough.