She was right to think so – those who understood them knew they were different, but those who didn't would only think this family was a mess. If that happened, not only would the two little girls be affected, but the boys' marriages would also be influenced.
This was the bad part about ancient times.
In the past, when their family was poor, she could hit, she could scold, and she could ignore matters like reputation. But as her family improved, she could no longer be so careless. She had to maintain a good face in public. Even if people formed a bad impression of her family, she couldn't let them gossip about such disgusting matters.
Moreover, she couldn't just think about herself – she had younger siblings too. They might have been too young to care about in the past, but now that Qingrui was eleven, she had to be more considerate.