A serious historical drama

i could only recommend NIF 1, 2, and minglan. you've most likely watched it already but those three always worth multiple rewatches. 

Thank you also to all the others, I hope all these titles are gonna help also someone else to find something new. I know already all of theM, but thank you so much! :)

 Thecla:

If you haven't already watched it, you could try The Legend of Zhouhua (2023). It has somewhat similar vibes to A  Dream of Splendor and same ML as The Story of Ming Lan. (There's a bit of an age gap between the leads, but it fits with the romance between two mature people.) 

Thank you!