A work-in-progress but deeply detailed Road to Empress Guide to help you unlock every ending, choice branch, and secret achievement in Road to Empress.
Road to Empress Full Walkthrough, All Endings & Achievements
Quick Info + Miscellaneous Achievements
Before we get into the story chapters, let me show you a few things you can do at any time to grab some free achievements:
Golden Butterfly Chase — Open the Story Map and click “Current” at the bottom. That’s it.
Distant Echoes — Listen to any Voice Message after an ending.
Starlit Skies — Click on the Trait Sketch (bottom left corner after completing a chapter).
History Buff — From the Storyline screen, click “All Chapters” (lower right corner).
Curious Cat — Watch a Bonus Video at the end of any chapter (unlocks starting Ch.2).
World of Possibilities — Unlock a Feat, then click it from the main menu.
Treasure Trove Discovered — Go to Characters > pick anyone > watch their Bonus Video.
The First Step — Visit the Leaderboard from the menu and gift a flower/egg to a character.
Time Rewind — Get a Bad Ending, then use coins to rewind and make a new choice.
Chapter 1: The Unfathomable Rear Palace
This chapter is mostly setup, but your early decisions already affect achievement paths.
First Choice — Enter the Palace
Push and hold the door = unlocks Nimble Moves achievement
Her Grace’s Favor
Claim it’s yours → Leads to To Gift or Not
Blame a sister → Leads to I’d Never Harm You
Say Liu Xi dropped it → Bad End, also unlocks All Part of the Experience
To Gift or Not
Agree to take the gift = Bad End
Hesitate = Bad End
Decline with style = Bad End + Style Icon achievement
I’d Never Harm You
- Choose:
- “I must have overthought it” → Goes to Choosing the Room
- “Did I say it was intentional?” → Goes to Boudoir Choices
Choosing the Room
Share room with Liu Xi = Bad End
Refuse = Leads to Boudoir Choices
Boudoir Choices
Choose the bloody handprint room = Bad End
Try to win over others = Chapter ends, unlocks The Unfathomable Rear Palace achievement
Chapter 2: A Frightful Banquet
Dressing Room Sequence
Hot Springs:
- Choose to bathe = Go to Relaxing Bath Time
- Skip it = Go to Which Dress to Wear
Relaxing Bath Time
- Soak longer = Bad End
- Finish early = Moves to Dress Selection
Dress Selection
- Choose [Red] = Radiance path
- Choose [Green] = Celestia path
- Switch dresses back and forth 10 times = Wardrobe Indecision achievement
- You must eventually choose both dresses and confirm “I Like It” to progress either route fully.
Celestia Path
QTE Challenge: Keeping Balance
- Pass = Continue to Meeting Your Husband
- Fail = Another Life achievement + Neutral End
Banquet Performance
- Dance or Song = Fine
- Terrible pipa = Bad End
Liu Xi’s Accusation
- Defend yourself → Three choices:
- Claim ignorance = leads to On An Empty Stomach
- Ask about Cairen Jiang’s punishment = leads to Prove Yourself
- Praise Cairen = leads to On An Empty Stomach
Prove Yourself
- Investigate her social circle = leads to On An Empty Stomach
- Examine her body = leads to Xu Hui’s Rise
On An Empty Stomach
- Eat flatbread = Bad End
- Skip → Go to Prison Dinner
Prison Dinner
- Eat gruel = Bad End
- Skip = Bad End
Xu Hui’s Rise
- Respond with any emotion: Disappointed, Jealous, Unbothered, Happy for Her — no wrong answer here
Aunt’s Insights
- You can pick all 3 options (tips for survival, women who thrive, princes) → Chapter ends → Unlocks A Frightful Banquet achievement
Radiance Path (identical structure, just different aesthetic route)
- The only key difference: If you picked “stunning song” in this path, you’ll get a Bad End due to timing with banquet sequence.
Chapter 3 & 4: Crown Prince’s Palace Enigma (Parts 1 & 2)
This section has a bunch of +Li Tai / +Li Zhi decisions, and many traps. You’ll need multiple replays to explore every outcome.
Important Flags:
- The Proposal:
- Suggest he choose someone else = Bad End
- Swear loyalty = Li Tai +1
- The Guard’s Challenge:
- Say “Physician from Wei” = Safe
- Anything else = Bad End
- Power Struggle:
- Confess = Bad End
- Ask Aunt for help = Safe
- Spotted By Aunt:
- Run alone = Bad End
- Grab her and run = Safe
- Chamberlain’s Threat:
- Pass QTE = Safe
- Fail = Bad End
- Split-Second Choice:
- Fight and kill = Chapter End
- Scream or flee = Bad End
- Liu Xi’s Curiosity:
- “Get lost” or “None of your business” both proceed
- Missing Token Subplot:
- Go back = Bad End
- Let it slide = Safe
- Accuse Liu Xi = Safe
- Say you left it with His Majesty = Bad End
- Scheme to Chengqian:
- Suggest rebellion = Li Tai +1
- Stir drama = Bad End
- Yin’s Deadly Intent:
- Threaten her with family = Bad End
- Play psychological = progresses
- Say you’ll help = Bad End
- Final Sequence:
- Escape = continues
- Confess to Consort Yang = Safe
- Tell Consort Wei or Emperor = Bad End
- Ending:
- Confess only the bare minimum = Chapter Ends + Crown Prince’s Enigma achievement
- Tell full story = Bad End
Tips for 100% Completion
- Use coins to rewind and unlock Time Rewind
- Keep track of Li Tai / Li Zhi affinity points
- Replay both Radiance and Celestia routes
- Trigger at least 1 Bad End in each chapter
- Grab all trait sketches and bonus videos for side achievements
- Watch every character bonus scene from the Main Menu for treasure-related achievements
This game doesn’t hold your hand. The “right” choice is often hidden behind context, timing, and even your outfit! Keep multiple saves, experiment with all dialogue paths, and treat every conversation as a puzzle. The achievements are surprisingly narrative-driven, and they reward you for exploring every dark corner of the palace.