Emperor Taizong of Sheng, the Late Emperor and father of Li Zhi, Li Tai, Li Chengqian, and Princess Gaoyang
Emperor Taizong, known as Li Shimin, is the Late Emperor of the Sheng Dynasty. His decisions — from executing Bian Ji to entrusting Chancellor Zhangsun on his deathbed — set the entire political landscape that Wu Yuanzhao must navigate.
Appears in Chapters 6–7 (Southern Mountain Hunt) and referenced throughout
Li Shimin — Emperor Taizong of the Sheng Dynasty — is the dead man who runs Road to Empress. Played by Lan Cheng, the Late Emperor appears in only a handful of scenes, yet virtually every crisis the player faces traces back to a decision he made: who would succeed him, which minister would guard the throne, and whose love was permitted to exist. Understanding Li Shimin is not nostalgia; it is reconnaissance. His ghost is the rulebook the court still plays by, and players who grasp his logic predict the court’s behavior chapters in advance.
As absolute ruler of the Sheng Dynasty, Li Shimin built the hierarchy the entire game takes place inside. He is the father of four figures who drive the plot: Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Li Tai the Prince of Wei, ninth son and successor Li Zhi, and Princess Gaoyang. His consort Dowager Consort Yang survives him as the protagonist’s aunt and mentor, and Wu Yuanzhao herself entered the palace as a Cairen in his service before his death reshuffled everything.
That is the key to his role: Li Shimin is the former center of gravity. Every character’s current position — heir, spare, widow, exile — is a coordinate he assigned.
Li Shimin’s ESTJ profile fits a ruler who treated the empire as a system to be administered. His favor attribute is “Authority,” and it defines how his scenes play: he responds to order, duty, and respect for the institution of the throne, not to sentiment.
The game’s portrait of him, adapted from Emperor Taizong of Tang, is of a man who could be a devoted father and still order the execution of his daughter’s lover without visible hesitation — because in his calculus, the dynasty outranks any individual heart. On his deathbed he performed one last act of administration, entrusting Chancellor Zhangsun to assist the new emperor. Even dying, he was organizing.
Li Shimin’s documented on-screen presence in Road to Empress centers on the Southern Mountain Hunt arc. He appears in Chapter 6, where the imperial hunt turns dangerous around a wild steed and a prince in peril. One of the chapter’s investigative choices asks you to identify a hairpin found at the scene — and selecting “Li Shimin’s” is a valid branch, with the consequence noting that the Emperor’s involvement adds a layer of intrigue. Even at a hunting party, the game reminds you that nothing near this man is merely leisure.
Chapter 7 carries his shadow into the prophecy crisis. The court is convulsed by an omen that a Wu woman will claim the empire, and the chapter’s own FAQ grounds this in history: the game notes that Emperor Taizong reportedly consulted the astronomer Li Chunfeng about precisely this prophecy. For Wu Yuanzhao, the paranoia he helped legitimize becomes a direct death threat.
His most consequential narrative act is the execution of Bian Ji, Princess Gaoyang’s secret lover. In the game’s telling, drawn from the historical record, the discovery of the affair ended with Taizong ordering the monk’s death — a decision that destroyed Gaoyang’s spirit, turned her grief into lasting political hostility, and severed her bond with Wu Yuanzhao, who failed to intervene. The fallout of that single order drives much of the Love Under Imperial Tyranny arc in Chapters 12–13.
Finally, his succession decisions frame the entire first game. Choosing the ninth son Li Zhi over the ambitious Li Tai and the eldest Li Chengqian ignited the rivalry that defines the central chapters, while his deathbed entrustment of Chancellor Zhangsun created the ministerial power bloc the protagonist must later overcome. He is referenced constantly across both games — in most playthroughs you feel his influence in nearly every chapter even though he left the stage early.
Within his family, Li Shimin was both patriarch and referee — and his rulings were final. Li Zhi inherited the throne; Li Tai inherited the bitterness of the passed-over favorite; Li Chengqian inherited a crown prince’s title under impossible pressure; Gaoyang inherited a grief that curdled into opposition. Chancellor Zhangsun inherited his trust and, with it, the regency-like authority that shapes the new reign. His consort, Dowager Consort Yang, inherited only vulnerability — a survivor of the previous reign who must stay useful to stay safe. And Wu Yuanzhao, his former Cairen, inherited the prophecy his court took seriously enough to kill for.
Because Li Shimin’s favor attribute is Authority, his scenes reward disciplined, hierarchy-aware answers over emotional appeals. Players typically find the Southern Mountain Hunt chapters less about winning his approval and more about surviving the attention of everyone trying to win it — the hunt QTEs and the hairpin identification in Chapter 6 both feed later intrigue.
The practical value of Li Shimin is analytical. In most playthroughs, asking “what would the Late Emperor’s court do?” is a reliable way to read conservative ministers, prophecy panic, and Zhangsun’s faction. When the game offers you the chance to defy imperial authority outright — most famously in Chapter 12, where defiance earns Li Tai Favor +9 at the cost of the Emperor’s wrath — remember who taught this court what defiance costs. The game did.