In the story The Peacocks Fly Southeast, Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi are a married couple that kill themselves because the young man's mother forces them apart. Liu Lanzhi lifts up her skirt, takes off her silk shoes and drowns herself. Jiao Zhongqing hangs himself from a tree in his yard.
而在「孔雀東南飛」的故事裡，焦仲卿與劉蘭芝夫婦，遭婆婆拆散，一個「攬裙脫絲履，舉身赴清池」，一個「徘徊庭樹下，自掛東南枝」，雙雙殉情。