Dominion and Devotion

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 dramas involve one of the leads pretending to be the opposite gender and taking refuge in a woman's only village while the other lead is on a quest for revenge regarding the death of their family.

- Short drama.
- FL disguises herself as a man and is the emperor.
- ML is the rival and wants to destroy her.

The female lead of dominion and devotion cross dresses as a man and could actually feasibly pass as a man. She is smart and strategic.

Enemies to lovers working towards the same end game. Though the leads in D&D are not as crazy, the tension and chemistry between both dramas are great. Also historical/period dramas that lean into political themes.

- Emperor MC (FL in DaD, ML in SoTK)
- Secret related to the emperor (twin replacement in SoTK, gender secret in DaD)
- Kind and compassionate emperor (FL in DaD, ML in SoTK)
- Emperor's mentor and love interest is jaded and cruel but deep down kinder than they appear (ML in DaD, FL is SoTK)
- Smart and strong power couple
- "Us against the world"
- Emperor is a puppet ruler with little to no actual power
- Troubling times for the empire (one at the start of a new dynasty, the other at the end of a dynasty)
- Palace setting & politics
- Intense and thrilling
- Beautifully shot with lovely music

Main differences are obviously the fact that DaD's emperor is a woman cross-dressing as a man who takes up the throne while in SoTK ML is the emperor's twin who takes his place. In SoTK, the leads are emperor and empress while in DaD, the leads are emperor/ess and eunuch.

Both dramas deal with court politics where the couple is fighting against the corrupted officials. Deals with investigation and scheming. Both higher quality web dramas.

- Royal MC that's low-ranking and unfavored (emperor FL in DaD, prince ML in DLX)
- Other MC is a palace servant (eunuch in DaD, head maid in DLX)
- MC's mentor and love interest is jaded and cruel but deep down kinder than they appear (ML in DaD, FL is DLX)
- Master x Servant dynamic
- Smart and strong power couple
- "Us against the world"
- Intense and kinda melancholic chemistry
- Revenge
- Palace setting & politics
- Intense and thrilling
- Very beautiful and well-crafted miniseries

DLX is kinda like if DaD had the roles reversed, the royal lead actually *wanted* to rule, and they were in it together since the get-go.

- female lead disguised as a male and becomes a ruler.
- love interest between fl and close male subject. In King’s affection he is the tutor and in Dominion and Devotion he is the “eneuch”.
- both historical dramas