Road to Empress II drops you into the cutthroat politics of Imperial China, where every conversation is a potential trap and every alliance can shift the balance of power. As a temple nun clawing her way toward the throne, your romantic choices are never just about affection. They are strategic moves that determine which factions support you, who betrays you, and whether you survive long enough to become empress.

This guide breaks down how to evaluate romance options based on currently available information about the cast and story structure. Rankings will shift as players discover hidden interactions and alternative endings, but the core dynamics are already clear from the promotional materials and cast details released by New One Studio.

Eager for more tips and guides related to this game? We've got you covered with the related article: 

  • Road to Empress II Tips for Your First Few Hours
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Play better with MuMuPlayer: Starting Road to Empress II on MuMuPlayer gives new players a more comfortable PC and Mac setup for learning menus, quests, upgrades, and early progression. A larger screen and keyboard-friendly controls make it easier to follow faster action, smoother controls, and longer battles without draining your phone during longer sessions.

How This Ranking Works

Romance options in Road to Empress II are judged on four criteria that matter for both story enjoyment and practical progression:

  • Political value - How much power and protection the relationship brings to your empress journey
  • Narrative depth - Whether the route has meaningful character development and satisfying story beats
  • Accessibility - How difficult the route is to unlock and maintain without triggering bad endings
  • Ending variety - Whether the romance leads to multiple distinct outcomes based on your choices

Characters are grouped by their general usefulness rather than strict tiers, since personal preference for story tone matters heavily in visual novels. A politically weaker route with excellent writing may still be worth playing for players who prioritize narrative over optimization.

The Confirmed Cast and Their Roles

Based on the official cast list and story premise, these are the major characters players can pursue:

Li Zhi / Emperor Gao Zong - The reigning emperor himself, portrayed by Darren Chen. This is the central power route. Romancing the emperor offers direct access to the throne but comes with maximum danger. You are competing against established consorts, managing imperial expectations, and navigating the fact that Li Zhi's favor can be withdrawn as easily as granted.

Li Tai / Prince Wei - Played by Yao Chi, this is the prince route that offers an alternative path to power. Princes in Imperial China often had their own factions and ambitions. Supporting Li Tai means betting on his political future, which could elevate you dramatically or collapse if his faction loses influence.

Wu Yuan Zhao - Portrayed by Huang Yi, this character appears to be connected to your protagonist's origins or early temple life. Routes like this typically offer emotional grounding and personal stakes rather than pure political climbing. They may unlock unique perspective on the protagonist's background.

Princess Gao Yang - Played by Lin Xiao Zhai, this represents the royal family connection route. Alliances with princesses can provide court access, protection from certain enemies, and insight into imperial family dynamics that outsiders miss.

Empress Wang - Portrayed by Huang Qiao, this is the established power figure route. The current empress represents both obstacle and potential mentor. This route likely explores complex female relationships in a patriarchal system, with possibilities for rivalry, alliance, or something more nuanced.

Which Routes Offer the Strongest Start

For players who want to survive their first playthrough without hitting a bad ending, certain characters provide more forgiving entry points.

Princess Gao Yang appears to be the safer choice for most players. Royal family routes typically offer protection without the immediate lethal pressure of competing for the emperor's exclusive attention. You gain court access and political education without becoming the primary target of every rival consort.

Wu Yuan Zhao likely represents the emotional anchor route. These connections often provide stability and alternative win conditions that do not require dominating the entire court. If the game allows non-empress endings with personal fulfillment, this route probably enables them.

Li Zhi is the high-risk, high-reward option. New players should expect multiple failed attempts before achieving a stable romance with the emperor. The route probably demands precise choice sequences, resource management, and timing that only becomes clear through repetition or community guides.

Political Alliance Value

Some routes are worth pursuing specifically for what they unlock in other playthroughs.

Empress Wang connections likely reveal the inner workings of court administration that help across all routes. Understanding how the current empress maintains power teaches you the systems you will need to master yourself.

Li Tai represents the faction-building route. Success here probably teaches mechanics for gathering and maintaining political support that transfer to other romance paths. Even if you ultimately pursue someone else, the skills learned through the prince route should make subsequent playthroughs easier.

What to Watch for in Early Choices

The first chapter, available as a free trial, establishes which characters notice you and how they initially respond. Based on standard visual novel structure, these early interactions probably lock in certain relationship trajectories or at least make some routes significantly harder to access later.

Pay attention to which characters appear in multiple scenes and whether your choices improve or damage their opinion of you. Road to Empress II uses delayed consequences, so a dismissive comment in chapter one might not hurt you until chapter five.

The personality breakdown at the end of each playthrough should also guide your approach. If the game identifies you as aggressive or cautious, certain characters may respond better to consistent roleplaying rather than trying to please everyone.

Who Should You Pursue First

Your first route choice depends on what you want from the experience.

If you want to understand the full story and mechanics before committing to a difficult romance, start with Princess Gao Yang or Wu Yuan Zhao. These routes likely provide narrative foundation and survival tools.

If you want the most challenging and potentially most rewarding political story immediately, pursue Li Zhi. Expect to fail. Use those failures to learn the choice patterns that eventually unlock the true empress ending.

If you are interested in the strategic depth of faction politics, Li Tai offers a middle path between personal romance and power-building that may satisfy players who find the emperor route too punishing.

Empress Wang is probably best saved for a second or third playthrough when you understand court systems well enough to appreciate what her route reveals about them.

What Makes a Route Worth Replaying

Road to Empress II promises multiple endings based on choice patterns rather than simple binary good or bad outcomes. The most valuable routes will be those where small decision variations produce meaningfully different political situations, not just dialogue changes.

Watch for whether romantic choices interact with the review memorials and decree systems mentioned in previews. A route where your love interest actively helps or hinders your administrative decisions offers more strategic depth than one where romance and politics remain separate tracks.

The 1,000 minutes of live footage suggests substantial variation in how scenes play out. Routes that unlock unique cinematic sequences based on your political standing are likely the most content-rich.

How to Keep Track of Route Requirements

With delayed consequences and branching paths, you will need a system to remember what worked.

The game does not appear to have an in-game flowchart based on available information. Consider taking notes on major choices and their visible immediate effects. Community resources will eventually map optimal paths, but early players should document their own discoveries.

Multiple save slots are essential. Create saves before major court events, romantic decision points, and any choice that significantly shifts your political alignment. Road to Empress II is designed for replay, so do not worry about achieving a perfect outcome on your first attempt.

How to Play Road to Empress II on PC and Mac

  1. Download MuMuPlayer on your PC or Mac.
  2. Launch MuMuPlayer, then search for Road to Empress II in Google Play or MuMuStore.
  3. Download and install the game from the store. If the game cannot be found in the store, you can download the APK on your computer and drag it directly into MuMuPlayer.
  4. After installation, open the emulator desktop and launch the game.

MuMuPlayer has been well optimized for Road to Empress II on Mac and PC, making it easier to enjoy faster action, smoother controls, and longer battles with a larger screen, smoother sessions, and more comfortable controls. Try it now and experience the game in a more stable desktop setup.

What to Check Next

Once you have completed your first route, compare your ending against the personality breakdown and choice summary. Identify which political alliances you failed to secure and whether any characters who seemed minor actually had major impact on your outcome.

Community discussion will rapidly expand understanding of hidden requirements and secret endings. Check the official Discord server and dedicated fan spaces once you have finished at least one playthrough and want to optimize subsequent attempts.

The DLC bundle already announced suggests New One Studio plans substantial post-launch content. Additional characters, extended routes, or alternative historical scenarios may shift these rankings significantly. Keep your save files and stay ready to revisit favorite characters when new content drops.