Jin knew Hou-Ting was going to leave many problems behind, but he was stunned when he caught up with the situation of the kingdom!
All of that, of course, came after doing the bare minimum for the former queen's funeral—he still had to pretend in front of the world. But if Hou-Ting knew the true reason behind her foretold death, she would surely rise from the grave just to try to fight him.
Officially, and for the rest of the world, the queen had choked to death on an olive pit, and since her body was cremated with "the highest honors," no one could question anything even if they wanted to.
The servants of Gun who witnessed the poisoning?
Jin wasn't cruel enough to eliminate them just for that; he simply sent them to the Dai Li for a week for a small memory adjustment.
He didn't even deduct vacation days for it!
As for other matters, such as meeting with foreign representatives, he naturally postponed them, claiming he needed to calm internal tensions after his abrupt ascension.
After all, Gun and his people did a great job spreading rumors about how he "reluctantly" agreed to take the throne, all for the welfare of the Earth Kingdom.
Yes, it was complete nonsense, but just like in his past life, the masses swallowed it whole and were moved.
The real reason to avoid those people was simple: he wasn't going to make deals with anyone until he knew exactly what resources he had at his disposal. That was common sense.
"How could that woman be so stupid?" Jin asked himself again, after who knows how many repetitions over the last few days.
The kingdom's economy was a disaster; the queen had been so inept that she allowed a sixth of the economy to fall into the hands of specific factions. If those people decided to withdraw their money and move to the Fire Nation, the crisis would be considerable.
The only reason the kingdom hadn't collapsed was because there were still people who knew how to do their jobs, and the rest of the money propped up the foolish actions and whims of the former queen.
The amount of money owed to the throne that was uncovered in embezzlement, tax evasion, bribery, and other matters was enough for Jin to initiate a purge of numerous families, exposing exactly what they had done and the consequences.
For example, one family that had made a fortune in the construction and pest-control business deliberately used low-quality wooden beams so that, after two or three years, they would be hired to eliminate the small creatures gnawing on and destroying the wood. As a result, people needed to rebuild part of their homes, repeating the cycle, passing it off as a streak of bad luck, only leaving a handful of houses well-built so as not to raise suspicion.
The people (his subjects now) were going to learn that his way of handling things was very different.
He kicked out those who had bought their positions, relocated and promoted the truly skilled, and worked very hard. If Kyoshi hadn't helped him using the Dai Li's assistance, Jin was sure it would've taken half a year just to "sort and clean up" the palace.
Yes, ONLY the palace.
From veteran advisors to the maids sweeping the hallways, everyone was examined in groups one after another.
The spies fell to the Dai Li and other operatives, and infiltrators of the White Lotus were asked to leave.
What a joke—Jin was not going to allow those people to meddle in his affairs. They had no voice, no vote, and certainly were not qualified to judge him.
If anyone got violent and tried to eliminate the new king?
Jin was more than happy to perform some demonstrations of power (the spectacularly visual kind) as the most powerful earthbender in the world!
Once the money owed to the crown began flowing into the royal coffers like an unleashed river finally returning the water it should, Jin could—and did—start acting for real. From modernizing basic facilities to repairing heavily deteriorated areas such as the outer ring of the city.
He also began some more personal projects, like creating a pavilion so that when his spirit friends came to visit, they would know where to go.
It had been a while since he'd heard from the Painted Lady—he should invite her for tea.
Maybe call Iroh to catch up?
Another month had to pass before he finished giving his first instructions and had time to meet all sorts of people, from veteran merchants who almost wet themselves upon recognizing him in person, to representatives from other parts of the world.
Many deals and affairs required Jin, as the new king, to confirm whether they would be maintained, canceled, or changed in their execution. To the dismay of many, Jin chose the last option for nearly everything.
It wasn't that he didn't want to delegate, but finding people who were both competent and reliable was proving to be a challenge, and it would take time even if he announced public recruitment.
Asami and Zhu Li were still getting used to the fact that they were now queens of the largest kingdom in the world. Adaptation would take time, but changes were underway.
But naturally, not everyone was pleased with those changes.
The bandits who plagued the villages thought this transition would be a great opportunity to fill their pockets for a few weeks, but were late to realize things weren't so easy—not when Jin waved his hand and, at his word, the entire army was deployed to capture them and all their "colleagues" across the kingdom to throw them into prison awaiting judgment.
They would most likely be executed.
At the same time, the army was tasked with surveying the condition of the roads and main highways, delivering supplies to the villages most affected by banditry, and making a record of problems that Jin would later use to send aid, carry out construction, or enact modifications.
In cases classified as urgent, they were allowed to use the radio to request instructions from the palace directly.
As the Earth Kingdom began to reform itself and straighten out its problems, another small issue surfaced belatedly.
"Of course Wu wouldn't remain silent," Jin read half-amused from a secret letter from Zhu Li's informants regarding Hou-Ting's grand-nephew, who had lost the throne due to her maneuver.
He had cut off his access completely—no more wasting royal funds. If he wanted to live a luxurious lifestyle, he needed to find a job he could do well and be paid accordingly.
But the guy had the idea of hiding in Republic City, taking advantage of its supposed neutrality, being maintained by the current president while asking other parties, such as the Fire Nation, to help him reclaim the throne that rightfully belonged to him.
Curiously, President Raiko had provided Wu with bodyguards while hosting the boy, and Lin sent Mako for the job—to the eternal regret of the firebender by the end of the first day.
Oh, right—he had completely forgotten to invite him to the wedding, hadn't he?
…Meh.
"Even if something happened to me, I've already made sure you won't receive anything," Jin set aside the secret letter and moved on to other matters, such as the reception he had scheduled for the afternoon.
Hou-Ting had never worried about her succession, either because she thought her death was far away or out of indifference. That was why Jin could claim the throne so easily after her death—she had left no "will" that needed to be followed.
But was Jin going to make the same mistake? No, he made sure to tie loose ends quickly.
He was even doubling his efforts to have heirs!
Yes, the idea of becoming a father had him a bit excited.
Thinking about it… perhaps he should give his wives a break. He suspected the main reason they still hadn't adapted to their new responsibilities could, very remotely, be his fault.
The only one keeping up the pace despite everything was Kyoshi.
"I need to accelerate talent recruitment," he thought as he used inkbending to sign multiple authorizations in his new study.
The paperwork handlers watched in envy as their new king processed hours' worth of work in mere minutes, without errors and even adding notes correcting content when needed.
Their thoughts were perfectly unified.
"Forget being an earthbender, I'd settle for being an inkbending master!" they cried inwardly, tears of envy streaming down their cheeks.