Nobody complains about the ash. It's taken for granted. Nor do they mention the Lord Ruler. So is he.

Promise will hear quite a bit against the nobles. Over the course of eavesdropping, she'll hear that they allegedly treat the non-nobles as essentially tools useful mainly for enriching whatever House they work for. The speakers, sharing drinks and complaints, aren't advocating doing anything about it, of course. Just commenting on how they're worked to the bone and barely paid.
According to one person, "we city skaa" are actually the lucky ones. The plantation workers get beaten if they don't work and killed if they can't. Thirdhand rumors say that some skaa halfway across the empire are allowed to own land.