Jiang Shan Wei Pin

In a world of family schemes and political struggles, a woman rises from a tragic past and builds her strength through intelligence and determination.
She navigates danger, betrayal, and shifting loyalties while trying to secure her survival and future.
Along the way, she forms a complicated bond with a powerful ruler shaped by ambition, duty, and hidden emotions.

Same actress playing the main character, the FL is cunning and lets herself be used as a pawn in the power plays that the ML creates

The plots look so similar.
Jiang Shan Wei Pin has not been released yet. But the whole 'being the stepping stone for each other' sounds like The Glory.

They both help each other for their own benefit. Scheming and plotting.
Smooth-talking and cunning female lead>>>>

Scheming. Lots of it.
The female leads are smart and help the male leads in plotting.
Major palace setting. Power play, politics, conspiracies, etc.

Personally, I love the main actors of both dramas. All four of them act so well, and they do justice to their characters, especially in historical dramas.