He Gaofei was too frustrated to keep fiddling with the object. He finally set it aside. "What's wrong with being merchants? The ones who are truly living well are the merchant families."
"Don't be so full of your stuffy, old-fashioned ideas. Our old aristocratic families have been families in name only for a long time now. What's the use of clinging to that empty reputation?"
"Surely you must have noticed a few things after more than a year in Lu City?"
Mrs. He retorted, "Am I the one being stuffy? Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—this hierarchy has existed since ancient times. Look at all those famous merchants. Don't they all have to rely on the patronage of official families to survive?"
"Much of it is just a veneer of prosperity. The moment real trouble strikes, a single word from an official family can strip them of everything they have."
"I know what you're referring to. But Mrs. Gu is a unique case; no one else can replicate her success."
