In the Song Dynasty, women had complete control over their dowries. After their death, if they had no children, the dowry would be returned to their natal family. Therefore, when Song people married off their daughters, the dowries were especially generous. Many imperial princes and high-ranking officials of the court even went into debt to provide dowries for their daughters.

Brooks the Seventh began saving up for his daughter's dowry as soon as her engagement was set. In the past few years, everyone in the village was very poor, so his accumulation of wealth was slow. After Henry Clark brought in agricultural deep-processing technology, the wealth of Chengjia'ao began to surge. Since Brooks the Seventh had no farmland to tend, he had a lot of free time, and with Henry Clark's "policy favoritism," he was able to quickly prepare a full dowry for Julie Brooks in this wave of prosperity.

In fact, Henry Clark felt rather disdainful about what was currently called "wealth" in Chengjia'ao. The villagers were used to poverty, so when they suddenly had some extra money, they were easily satisfied. For example: Ethan Brooks, being the clan leader's son and the leader among the children, had shares in every village industry, and his father benefited as well, becoming the richest man in the village. As for how much this "richest man" actually had—240 strings of cash.

As for the "second richest," Brooks the Second, his wealth was even more pitiful, less than a hundred strings. Currently, Brooks the Second's monthly additional income, at best, was only about 2 to 7 strings. If even the second richest was like this, then the so-called "generous dowry" of Brooks the Seventh was only worth about 30 strings of cash...

Counting the days, the young lady was about to get married. She and that shop assistant had already agreed to marry after the autumn harvest. Brooks the Seventh planned to go to the city to enjoy life after the harvest.

The soon-to-be bride appeared in her own courtyard, and Henry Clark felt a bit uneasy. He opened his mouth, ready to persuade Julie Brooks to stop her busy work, but immediately noticed that something was off about Julie Brooks's attire.

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The girl was acting very strangely today, actually wearing a brand-new silk outfit, with the fabric embroidered with delicate flowers, birds, insects, and fish. The embroidery was exquisite—perhaps it was an early form of Hunan embroidery. Over the gorgeous skirt and top, she wore a gauze beizi. This type of beizi evolved into the "bijia" in the Ming Dynasty, and in modern times is called a "trench coat."

Early "beizi" had no buttons, the two lapels did not meet, and were even quite far apart, looking much like a cloak. In the Song Dynasty, people of all social classes could wear beizi, but the material had to match one's social status. However, no matter what, it was not clothing for laborers, but was commonly seen on noblewomen.

Seeing the beizi on Julie Brooks, the first word that popped into Henry Clark's mind was "wedding dress"—Julie Brooks was showing off her wedding attire, this beautifully embroidered and splendid skirt and top was her wedding dress.

Julie Brooks was sweeping the ground very attentively, as if she hadn't heard Henry Clark's footsteps, but Henry Clark noticed that when he entered, the girl's movements paused for a moment, and then she seemed very stiff.

In modern society, Henry Clark was just an ordinary man, working for his boss, earning a salary, with no sense of adventure, only wanting to diligently please his boss and do his job well. Coming to this unfamiliar era, he became even more cautious. If not for the bit of ruthlessness he gained from previous jungle life, he might not have had the courage to keep living in such a completely unfamiliar environment. Now, since Julie Brooks didn't speak, he also kept silent, walking while admiring her wedding dress.

It really was a "wedding dress," and a complete set at that.

Around her waist was a colorful Shu brocade belt, from which hung a long silk sash. Tied to the sash were two jade pendants and jade rings—one pendant hanging at knee level, the other at her feet...

"Julie, this jade pendant... it seems like it's in the wrong place," Henry Clark said, seeing for the first time a woman in ancient times wearing pendants like this. In his mind, "the tinkling of pendants" meant they should hang at the waist, so why were they below the knees? He couldn't help but interject.

Julie seemed off today. Normally, she could chat with Henry Clark, but today she was simply shy. Hearing Henry Clark's comment, she hesitated for a while, turned her back, adjusted the pendants, and then, without turning her head, softly explained, "This way of wearing them, I heard from the etiquette teacher. The teacher said it was wrong... Is it right now?"

How could Henry Clark see if it was right or not, with Julie's back turned?

Even if Henry Clark could see, he wouldn't know what to say. Because Julie's words suddenly reminded him—maybe, when it came to how to wear the pendants, he was the one who was wrong!

Julie Brooks was the apple of Brooks the Seventh's eye, and since she was to marry into the city, Brooks the Seventh had taught Julie "city people's etiquette" from a young age. The so-called "etiquette teacher" was a middle-aged woman hired by Brooks the Seventh specifically to teach Julie Brooks manners.

Henry Clark vaguely felt that perhaps the scenes he had seen in those historical dramas had misled him again—the correct position for the jade pendants was actually below the knees. Suddenly, he seemed to recall seeing Japanese geishas, whose accessories also hung below the knees...

This time, Henry Clark guessed right. The purpose of the pendants was to weigh down the hem of the skirt. Song people valued walking in such a way that their shoes did not show beneath the skirt, and the low-hanging jade pendants were just right for pressing down the flying hem. Because of the pendants, Song people could only take small steps when walking, especially those of high status. Japanese geishas originally learned this "noble" way of walking.