Recommendations

In these 2 drama, the main actress went in the past or a ancient dimension/world and meet her prince. Love and hate was involved and they found love through struggles.

Old friend relationship goes to love relationship. Both dramas have the male lead in sports. The chemical charm between leads is so perfect in both shows.

The tones are drastically different. Story of Ming Lan is more slice-of-life, while Story of Yanxi Palace is more palace intrigue, but there are core similarities.

FEMALE LEADS - If you love Ming Lan's intelligence and loyalty, give Wei Yingluo of Story of Yanxi Palace a try. Yingluo's a more... cutthroat version of Ming Lan. She, too, if very clever and loyal to a fault. She doesn't set out to scheme against others to climb ranks or such, but try to wrong her, to frame her, to harm those she loves and she'll plan against it and set traps accordingly.

COSTUMES - Just... stunning. I'm not a huge fan of the Qing dynasty male hairstyles (that braided half-bald look) but I love this show so much I was able to get past it, haha. The hair pieces are stunning velvet flowers or metal jewelry. Clothing and accessories also have much to do with each 'palace's mistress and displays their character.

CINEMATOGRAPHY - Beautiful in both.

I would say the biggest difference that people may find difficult is the romance. I don't want to spoil anything so just watch the trailer if you want more information.

Story is based on psychopaths and how due love and affection can change the personality. Reflecting on one's acts and then paying for their crimes is the main concept of this drama

I have no idea why these are two similar, only that everyone who adored Ming Lan reports that it is by the same director/writer and is just a great plot and extremely well written. I will return to edit this after seeing Battle.

they leave you with the same feeling of a beautiful story between two people falling into a relationship they shouldn't, but ultimately do. Both dramas have characters with unresolved issues and a satisfying development.

Both of these dramas there is a contract marriage story , smart wife & husband too who will love each other & hardly have miss-understanding drifting them apart for long time . Truly Legend of Yunxi my most favorite historical drama of such a them of contract marriage & this new Chinese drama “ Well intended love “ becoming my most favorite modern drama of same genre so far , taking in consideration that I have been watching Asian dramas for 11 years for now..

It gave off the same feels. Both have the idea of fighting against the Japanese occupation. Both have that forbidden love.

It occured in the same era where Joseon is fighting for their liberation from the Japanese occupation. There you can see the iconic Carpe Diem where they frequent to. Both main characters have the nationalism in them, though in Chicago it is much strongly shown. Both male leads fights with their pens through writing literatures.

Both have a male lead that is devoted to the female lead, and the interactions of each couple are very cute.

Both are take place in a school setting (one high school, the other college) and deal with heavier, more mature topics. The two dramas also share similar themes that are common to young adults and teenagers, especially in this day and age.

Both dramas deal about 2 women that are divorced and go through a hard time. After a long jumping between jobs, both women end up, with the help, from in Romance is a Bonus Book, a friend, and in Cunning Single Lady, ex-husband, at a company as intern. Both have that man as their superior and keep it a secret from their coworkers.
Both stories give off such a similar vibe. Both women reminded me a lot of the other while watching the dramas.

Just one thing: please ignore the horrible synopsis of "Cunning single lady", it gives such a very bad impression, and trust me, it is completely wrong. There is by far more to the drama than what one thinks at first.

If you liked the Female Lead in "The Villainess" then you'd like main character in "Coin Locker Girl" as well it's like they're cut from the same cloth both are cold, ruthless, and fierce to say the least. Both have blood on their hands, and yet they have a heart.
The endings were even slightly similar.

Only similarity they have is that the heroine is very much into art and the hero's show symptoms of OCD.

The stories of both dramas are similar, a girl disguised as man enters in a all boys school to get closer to the man she admires.