i love skimming through the novels only to find something that pisses me off >.<
crown prince and heir apparent are not interchangeable terms...
for Jinshi to no longer be the crown prince someone else has to be given that title, because it is a formal title that is appointed. Gyokuyou's son holds the rank and title of the crown prince, not because he is the Emperor's first born but because of the deal that Jinshi and the Emperor made that Jinshi would not remain the crown prince once the Emperor had a son to hold the title, and because the Emperor has formally declared Gyokuyou's son as his successor.
Jinshi IS the heir apparent, if something happens to the Emperor the heir apparent is the one that is assumed to step in, not a formal title but a social one. Jinshi is the heir by assumption, as we see in LN15 when someone needs to take over for the Emperor, and it is not anyone of the Gyoku family or faction as an extension of the crown prince but Jinshi as assumed heir.
The conflict that is going on re the succession crisis is largely stemming from arguments about Jinshi being the heir apparent and the want for that to be reformalised with the title of crown prince he lost to Gyokuyou's son, also because if Gyokuyou's son is not the crown prince her position as empress and the power she can wield become a lot more shaky.
i get that crown prince being the first in line, and the heir apparent being the first in line, makes it seem like they are the same but they are different, and it matters which is being used, and i don't like that it seemingly isn't in the apothecary diaries and i have to assume its the fault of Kevin who does not seem to like the phrase crown prince (flash backs to milord heir in LN4, which is also not the same thing) it makes me want to check the Japanese to see if they are being treated as different terms by Hyuganatsu or what because i really am so upset by them being treated so interchangeably in a succession crisis plot















