As it turned out, they had truly been living too comfortably for too long. Mrs. Gao was quite doted on in her family home, so naturally, those who served her benefited as well—they had never known hardship. A group long accustomed to getting their way, they had been harboring a great deal of dissatisfaction since arriving in the countryside. When Mrs. Gao asked, they spoke their minds without a second thought, believing they were acting in their lady's best interest and seeing nothing wrong with it.
A maidservant stepped forward and said, "My Lady, since you've asked, I'll be blunt: It's not proper for you to be mixing with those country peasant women all the time. If you pity them, just send over some food and other things. Bringing them into our home is truly inappropriate. And lately, you always go out dressed so strangely, without any makeup or proper hairstyling. When you go back to your family home…"
"Jin'er, what nonsense are you spouting?"
