Everlasting Longing

The setting and plot might be similar to certain extent but the main thing is if u enjoy watching the longest ballad and are looking for somthing similar this could be it or hoping it would be, since i am speculating based on the costume and the synopsis while the dram is not out yet.
i have a big expectation and i am looking forward to it

Both dramas feature a central romance between a Han character and a Khitan (Liao Dynasty) character.

To protect her family's noble title, He Yan, the eldest daughter of the He family, is forced to don a mask and pose as the family's eldest son, "He Ru Fei." As a young girl, He Yan first meets the brilliant scholar Xiao Jue at Xianchang Academy. Determined to escape her family's fate, she leaves the academy and heads to the battlefield.

Years later, He Yan returns home as a celebrated hero, only to be betrayed by her family when her brother He Ru Fei reappears. Surviving the treachery, He Yan assumes a new identity as He Yan, the daughter of a city gate officer, and disguises herself as a man to join the military in Yezhou, vowing to reclaim everything that was taken from her.

In Yezhou, He Yan befriends the gentle and refined Chu Zhao and once again crosses paths with Xiao Jue. However, Xiao Jue suspects He Yan of being a spy and constantly tests her. Despite his suspicions, He Yan clings to Xiao Jue and proves her abilities by becoming the top soldier in Yezhou's defense force. Through various trials, including the Sun family incident, the Ji Yang Princess affair, and the battle to defend Rundu, the two face life and death together and gradually come to understand each other's true feelings.

Both couples are from enemy kingdoms, brought together by circumstances leading to one of them living under a false identity in the other's kingdom, resulting in them having to choose between their love or their loyalties.

Both are historical dramas in which the leads have a difficult relationship due to the power struggles of the court and their countries. Halfway through both dramas one of the leads jumps off a cliff and is presumed dead by the other and the plots sort of "reset" with a change in location and costumes. Both have Song Wei Long as the ML.

Dramatically different plots but similar kind of vibe.

Both dramas have:
Respected and high ranking male lead
Smart female lead
Forbidden kind of love that is not accepted
Corrupt leaders
Forced separation and misunderstandings
Both have constant threat of death arcs

Unchained Love is about a eunich falling for one of the King's consorts. He is the head of the palace's soldiers that is very talented and determined. She is a consort for the previous king that was sent into the palace and meant to die when the King did but was saved because the King has an obsession with her that she does not return.

Everlasting Longing is a push and pull romance between two smart and strong individuals on opposite political lines. He is the expected next ruler for one side while she is the heir of one of the most influential families on the other.

Both dramas will leave you frustrated pretty frequently and neither female will top your list of favorite characters. But the kisses and romances are done fairly well.

Both are historical dramas in which the leads are from opposing countries teetering on the edge of war with each other. One of the leads is hiding their identity.

Both have a similar setting with the ML's culture and the FL from a different country.
......................................................

Similarities:
- Both have strong & smart ML who is a prince/royalty and great general
- FL is supposedly smart / can somewhat defend themselves
- FL did everything she can to protect her family
- Enemies to Lovers relationship
- ML is super dedicated/fell hard in love and did everything he can to protect FL
- Historical romance genre with good costumes
- Good kiss scenes, chemistry and production given their respective budgets

Differences:
- TNISY has some fantasy/rebirth and more gu/poison & cultivation related story
- TNISY is a shorter length drama vs EL is full-length

similarities:
- wuxia
- enemies to lovers
- smart and scheming female leads
- male and female leads are prominent people from opposing nations
- love triangles with female leads in the middle
SPOILERS!!!!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
- leads experience schism at some point and male leads work hard to get female lead back
- at one point ML thinks FM is dead and is devastated

These two shows had the same scriptwriter and it shows in some repeated plot points (even some scenes are copied with minor adjustments lol) and a lot of the character types and dynamics in Everlasting Longing appear in Fated Hearts as well. The execution in Fated Hearts is vastly superior though, as Everlasting Longing predates it by a couple years (as far as I can tell anyway — Everlasting Longing seems to have finished filming in early 2023 but didn't premiere until early 2025 bc Angelababy's controversy of being rumored to attend a cabaret show; while Fated Hearts filmed in the second half of 2024 and premiered at the end of 2025) and the plot is more cohesive and planned out.

If it weren't for a ton of very striking similarities I would have a very hard time believing that these are from the same scriptwriter tho bc the difference in quality is stark. If you liked Everlasting Longing, I have no doubt you'll like Fated Hearts bc all of Everlasting Longing's best qualities show up in Fated Hearts, while all it's worst qualities are missing. If you liked Fated Hearts, it might be fun to watch Everlasting Longing to see how much the scriptwriter has grown? Both in terms of technique and the actual messaging/themes of the story. But otherwise I'd say it's probably going to be a rough viewing experience.

This paragraph in the original MD book is crazy!!
The male protagonist is a great monk of the fox clan, who glanced at the matchless goddess when he was young, and has never forgotten since then, willing to incarnate as a killing god in the clan, wearing several fake faces on his face, and no one knows his name and true appearance.
The heroine Ji Tanyin, because of her sincere obsession with craftsmen, flew to become a god, and went down to take away the left hand of the male protagonist (originally it was the hand of the god Taihe), although she approached with a purpose, but she also sincerely protected the male protagonist, wanting to wait until he naturally died of old age before taking it.
The male protagonist is sensitive and suspicious, from the very beginning of the female protagonist's appearance, he has already suspected the identity of the female protagonist, and even once accidentally killed the female protagonist's body in the mortal world, but only regretted that she died, patted the ash on her body and left, because he didn't care at that time.
After gradually getting along and getting acquainted, he saw the heroine's brilliant craftsmanship, and was also moved by her sincere enthusiasm, and after the heroine tried her best to protect him and heal his injuries, Genzhong let Tan Yin see his true face and told her his name.
This kind of never caring, to reluctant, ambiguous pulling is simply true.

Both works contain Khitan characters and show ethnic conflicts/tensions between Liao Dynasty and Song Dynasty.

has the same plot, with the fl pretending to be a guy and accidentally ending up on the enemy's side and where she has to hide that she's who the ml's have been looking for this whole time. my uncanny destiny though is a bit unserious at first but you'll love it i promise

Both dramas contain Khitan characters and show ethnic conflicts/tensions between Liao Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and Western Xia Dynasty.