The new emperor is incompetent and the dynasty crumbles. You must choose: rule from the shadows as empress dowager, or depose the emperor and install a puppet. …
The new emperor is incompetent and the dynasty crumbles. You must choose: rule from the shadows as empress dowager, or depose the emperor and install a puppet. Eight bad endings punish every form of half-measure. The only path forward is decisive action backed by military force and imperial legitimacy.
BE 120 — Strategy +, but a figurehead emperor is a ticking time bomb
Resolve + — Main path; the only way forward is removal, not reduction
BE 121 — He won't go quietly
BE 122 — She'll take the deal and then betray you
BE 123 — Bureaucratic loyalty lasts only as long as the bribe
Resolve + — Main path; military force is the only language the court understands
BE 124 — Ambition +, but claiming the throne directly triggers universal opposition
Strategy + — Main path; the throne is safer when someone else sits on it
Scene 183 — Tough love, but no attribute boost
BE 125 — Imprisoning an emperor you just installed destroys your legitimacy
Resolve + — Main path; forced acceptance is still acceptance
BE 126 — Ambition +, but relying on maternal relatives makes you a puppet of the Wu clan
Strategy + — Main path; imperial legitimacy trumps all other loyalties
BE 127 — Resolve +, but factional warfare within your own camp is suicide
Directly claiming the throne (BE 124) triggers opposition from every faction — the court, the military, and the people. The game's design reflects historical reality: Wu Zetian's path to the throne was through years of behind-the-scenes rule before her formal ascension. The 'install a puppet' path is the politically viable one.
Legitimacy. Using the Li clan signals continuity and tradition, which pacifies the bureaucracy and the military. The Wu clan option (BE 126) makes you look like a maternal-clan puppet, and the Xu clan option (BE 127) invites factional civil war.
No unique prerequisites — this chapter is accessible from the main path of Chapter 38. However, high Ambition and Resolve attributes make the recommended choices more narratively consistent.